


The Gift of Heaven

by Numtwelve



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Angst, Eventual Smut, Leia is done with his shit, Leia ships it, M/M, Miscommunication, Modern AU, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, clueless luke, not exactly unrequited love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-21
Packaged: 2021-03-21 19:14:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 21,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30026544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Numtwelve/pseuds/Numtwelve
Summary: Luke and Din work together at Skywalker Industries, and they are friends. Luke has a crush and doesn't know how to tell his coworker the truth - and then the parade of people come in. People that appear to all be dating Din. Angst is strong with this fic as Luke faces the possibility that he won't be able to tell Din how he truly feels.This fic is a gift for my BBBB (beautiful bestest buddy beta) zombified419. She is amazing and wonderful and deserves a gift :) Love you, friend!!!!
Relationships: Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa/Han Solo, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 80
Kudos: 155





	1. The Lady With the Braid

**Author's Note:**

  * For [zombified419](https://archiveofourown.org/users/zombified419/gifts).



> Just a lovely little 10 chapter modern AU with my favorite ship in the Star Wars universe. This entire story came from a prompt from my beta, so I wrote it as a gift for my amazing friend, and BBBB, zombified419. 
> 
> Enjoy my dear; it's all for you.

Luke’s heart plummeted when he first saw her. She was casually leaning against Din’s desk, smirking at him. Din was smiling back, and Luke was getting sick to his stomach. He walked past Din’s desk and tried to ignore them, but Din called out to him.

“Hey, Luke. Come here for a sec.”

Luke put on a fake smile and turned around. “Hello Din. How are you today?”

“Great, thanks. This is my friend Cara Dune. Cara, this is Luke Skywalker.”

Cara grabbed her braid, playing with it by running the hair through her fingers. She smirked at Luke. “Skywalker, huh?” She glanced down at Din, smirking. “Related to the owners?”

“Yes, my parents own the company.” Luke glanced at Din, whose mouth was in a thin line. Cara was the only one of the three of them who looked comfortable. “If you’ll, ah, excuse me. I need to be off. It was nice to meet you, Cara.”

Luke hurried away before either of them could say anything. Unfortunately, he could see into Din’s office from his own. Cara stuck around for a while, playing with her braid and several touches to Din’s arm. Luke pretended to work and tried not to stare, but the display in the office opposite him was too much to ignore.

For the last two years, Luke and Din have worked across the hall from each other. From almost the first moment Luke saw him, he was entranced. Din had a quiet and reserved nature, but when he smiled it lit up the whole room. He had a dimple on one side of his face that made him seem almost childlike when grinning, and Luke was enamored immediately.

While working for his parents, Luke was always asked why he didn’t have a higher position within the company. Even his sister was the COO. Luke was happy in his position as Director of Talent Management and Recruiting, but Leia knew the truth. Luke didn’t want to move to the fourth floor where the rest of the executives were; he wanted to stay across the hall from Din.

It was only a small portion of that logic that included the fact that Luke did enjoy his job. He was so taken with Din that he didn’t want to leave him. If he was on the fourth floor, he’d never see Din. Well, maybe he would see him now and then, but not every day. Luke lived for the short interactions they had each day, and most of them happened  because they both practically lived in their offices.

Din was the Director of Security, with multiple teams reporting up to him. He was soft spoken, but commanded a room so heavily that no matter what he was saying, everyone listened. He had a calm exterior regardless of the situation; Luke had never seen it crack. Everyone who reported to him didn’t want to leave; everyone just trusted the man.

Din was also a single father to a five-year-old boy. He adopted him just before Luke met him, and at that time he was still getting used to being a parent. The first few months were hard on Din, and he talked to Luke quite often. Luke didn’t have any kids, but he was a good listener. Sometimes that’s all Din needed; Luke was happy to provide it. 

Back in the early days, just after they met, Luke tried to hold himself back from the thoughts he had. He had no way of knowing if Din was interested, and didn’t want to get into an HR situation by asking. The trouble with this was that Luke was pretending all the time. Sometimes he would find himself close to slipping and saying something that wasn’t quite appropriate, or keeping his hand on Din’s arm just a little too long. Normally, Luke wasn’t a bashful person, but Din had his insides twisting.

They spent hours together for a project about a year ago. Trying to develop an entire new department under Din took a lot of time out of both of them, and they were alone in Luke’s office a lot. Din would bring him breakfast, or offer to grab lunch...he knew that Luke would sometimes forget to eat when work was consuming him. Din had even invited him to the museum with his son, just to get him out of the office – Luke had refused, not wanting to get in the way of father and son bonding time. Din just took care of him.

And Luke was in love with him.

It was a hard truth to admit, and it took Leia confronting him a few weeks ago before he admitted it. After several months of Luke silently pining, Leia had shown up at his office door with a stern look. Knowing her as well as he did, he stopped what he was doing and leaned back in his chair. She took a step in and closed the door tight.

“Well, you got yourself into a fine state, haven’t you?” She had marched into his office and sat down on the chair on the other side of his desk. She stared at him for a moment, waiting for him to reply. Luke knew better than that, and he kept his mouth shut. “How long have you been in love with Din?”

Luke’s mouth had dropped open. “I’m not-”

“I’m your twin. Do you think I'm stupid? That I can’t tell?”

“But-”

“And I know, you are worried that he’s not interested or you’ll cause an HR nightmare by asking him if he feels the same way. I get it, but you are being very careless.”

“Leia, I don’t-”

“You need to figure out how to fix this before I go crazy. And everyone else around here, too.”

“It’s not like-”

“Just figure it out and talk to him, will you? I have too many things to do to come down here and tell my brother how to live his life.” She had stood up then, walking back toward his office door. “I love you, Luke, you know that. I just want you happy.”

Leia had left, leaving his door open, along with his mouth. It had taken him several minutes to process everything she’d said. As he leaned forward, his arms resting on his desk, he’d thought hard about what she had said.

He had thought of Din’s dark, soulful eyes. His stoic calm personality. The unwavering loyalty he showed everyone in his department. The unhidden love he held for his child. 

Luke rested his head against his hands, taking a deep breath. Leia had been right.

“Luke? Are you ok?” Luke looked up at Din’s voice. Luke saw the lady with the braid standing behind Din, smirking a little.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking. You heading out?”

“Yeah, Cara and I are having dinner. Do you, uh, have dinner plans?”

“Oh, I’m just heading home. Have a great time, you two.” Din shuffled as Luke stood up, grabbing his laptop and cell, putting them in his bag. “Tell  Grogu hi for me?”

“Uh, sure. Have a good night, Luke.”

“Thanks, Din. You, too. Cara,” he said, nodding toward her. He walked as fast as he could out the door, almost running once he got outside. He didn’t want to watch Cara and Din get in a car together, or touching...his heart was already hurting thinking about the fact that they were going out.

Luke made his way home, thankful that it was Friday and he wouldn’t have to go into work the next day. He was supposed to go to his parent’s house for dinner on Sunday, but he thought about cancelling. He wasn’t sure he would feel up to it.

When Luke got home, he set his work stuff down and went straight to his bedroom. He owned a condo just outside the business district in Hanna City. It was convenient because he lived close to the office, and he lived high enough up that it was quiet. He couldn’t hear the noise from the street, and he needed the quiet right now.

He walked out onto his balcony, sitting down on the lounge chair. He stared out into the city, watching the sun set. He hadn’t left work too late – actually, it was earlier than normal – but he felt tired to his bones. Like he had worked a twelve-hour day. The emotional turmoil he was under was definitely taking  its toll.

Eventually he went back inside, but only after the cool air made him shiver. Heating up some leftover takeout food from dinner earlier in the week, he tried not to think about Din and Cara out to dinner. Luke sat down at the counter in his kitchen, his head in his hands. What if she went home with him? Would she spend the night? Would she make  Grogu breakfast? What if they got married!

Luke stood up, frustrated with himself. He had no right to be upset. It's not as if Din was his – Luke's heart sped at the thought – and he had no right to make Din stop seeing anyone. He had chosen not to say anything, and this was his reward. God, Din wasn’t even interested in the same type of relationship Luke was. Luke felt like he had really stepped in it, and his constant thoughts about Din were just making it worse.

The next morning, after a fitful night of barely any sleep, Luke called his mother and canceled dinner the next day. He knew he would just need time to himself and the constant expectations of Anakin and  Padm é – since they asked him every weekend if he  was dating someone yet – was just too much to handle.

He sipped his coffee on his balcony, letting the sun hit his face and the cool morning breeze flow through his hair. He closed his eyes and rested his mind, trying desperately to forget everything. He felt fingers running through his hair and he looked up. Leia’s face betrayed the torment that she was going through, just as he was. She must have let herself in with the key he had given her, but he hadn’t heard it.

She sat down next to him, putting her head on his shoulder. “You are so stupid, you know that?”

Luke put his arm around her, kissing her head. “Thanks. I love you, too.”

“He likes you back, you know. That's what I've been trying to tell you.”

Luke sighed. “No, he doesn’t. I met the woman he’s dating yesterday. That truly means there is no hope after all.”

Leia sighed also. “I’m not sure that’s what’s really happening here.”

“I saw it with my own eyes, Leia.”

“What if she’s just a friend?”

“I’ve never seen friends touch each other like that.”

Leia snuggled into him. “I just hate to see you in so much pain.”

“I know.”

They were both quiet at that point. Luke kept his eyes closed, gaining comfort from the feel of his sister’s love and the air around him. The quiet morning reverie that he needed was only broken when Leia stood up and went to get herself some coffee. She came back and sat next to him, sipping her coffee and staring out over the view.

“What if you saw him outside of work and talked to him? No HR concern if you do that. He says no, you back down. At least you would know.”

Luke leaned his head back, resting it against the back of the chair. “It’s not as if I haven’t thought about that. I don’t see him outside of work; he doesn’t live near me, go to the same stores or parks. Hell, I don’t even know where he lives! All I know is it takes him a hell of a lot longer to get to work than it takes me. How can I find him outside of work if I don’t know where to go?”

“Ask him to a work lunch...no, that won’t work. Talk to him and ask him what grocery store he goes to. There has to be some way...”

“I can’t put myself through it, Leia,” Luke whispered, his head rolling to the side to look at her. His eyes filled with tears as he continued. “It’s too hard. After what I saw yesterday? No, I can’t.”

“But, Luke, he’s in love with you.”

Luke huffed a laugh. “I don’t think so.”

“Everyone thinks so!” Leia was frustrated now. He could see her mouth stretched into a thin line, and her fist was clenched tight. “Everyone in the whole damn office talks about it! ‘When will they get together already?’ It’s obvious to the entire office!”

Luke narrowed his eyes. “I don’t see how that’s even possible.” He got up, walking slowly inside to set his coffee cup down by the sink. He grabbed the counter as a new wave of emotions hit him. Why would everyone in the office think they were going to get together? There was simply no way that Din felt anything for him – not if he was dating someone else.

“You just need to find a way to talk to him. You are going to drive yourself crazy – if you aren’t there already. Please, promise me that you’ll try.” Leia stood behind him and placed her hand on his back. “I can’t watch you do this to yourself.”

“Then go. I appreciate you; you know I do. But this isn’t something you can fix,” Luke said quietly. “I’m not sure if there was ever a chance before, now that I know who he prefers to date. But even if there was a small chance, I lost it. He's dating someone else now, and I'm not going to ruin something for him. I-I love him too much for that.”

Leia sighed, her hand still rubbing on his back. “ Someday everything will come out and I'm going to remind you of this conversation. But in the meantime, I'll leave so you can throw yourself into despair – since that’s clearly what you want. If you won’t listen to me, maybe you should feel this way.”

“Leia...”

“No, I’m serious. I can see how much he loves you; it’s clear every time he looks at you! I don’t care what you think you saw; that’s not what’s going on here! If you are too pigheaded and stubborn to just talk to the man and find out, then I can’t help you.”

Luke turned around and leaned against the counter, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. His sister’s face was a mask of fury, and he didn’t understand it. “What do you want me to do?” he whispered, letting the tears fall.

She reached up and cupped his cheek. “I want you to talk to him.”

Luke knew he was fighting a never-ending battle. He lowered his head, unable to look into her eyes. “I’ll try.”

“Thank you, Luke. I  gotta get back to Han and Ben. Will you  be ok?”

“Yeah, I’ll be ok. Give them both hugs for me.”

“I will.”

After she left, the endless silence in his condo was almost suffocating. He took a long shower, and then settled down in front of the TV to occupy his mind. Everything he watched was mindless, and he still found himself drifting back to the memory of Cara’s hand on Din’s arm.

He spent Saturday lounging around his condo doing nothing. Normally, days like that would drive him crazy, but he couldn’t even lift a finger to do anything productive. Sunday was much of the same, though he had managed to at least get one work email out. Leia hadn’t pressed him to come to dinner at their parent’s house, so he stayed home.

Monday came too quickly.


	2. The Cowboy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's gift is the thankfulness I have on personal conversations I have with my friend. A general nod of thanks for always listening.
> 
> Zombified419 - enjoy :)

Luke made his way into the office on Monday with less cheer than normal. Before the events of last Friday, he was always excited to go into the office and see Din. Even if their interaction was limited, it was still the highlight of his day. But this day, he had nothing to look forward to.

He got to his office and opened the door, not even bothering to glance over to see if Din was in yet. He set his things down and booted up his computer, leafing through the messages that had been left on his desk. A knock on his door turned his attention.

“Good morning, Luke,” Din said, shoving his hands in his pants pockets. “How are you? Nice weekend?”

Luke’s mouth went dry looking up at him. He was wearing a dark blue suit, with a crisp white shirt and striped blue tie. He was so beautiful, almost a vision, standing just inside the door to Luke’s office.

“Uh, fine. Yours?” Luke licked his dry lips, trying desperately not to stare.

“Good, thanks.” Din didn’t make any move to leave, and his eyes held Luke’s gaze for a moment.

“You and  Grogu do anything fun this weekend?” Luke asked, desperate to find something to talk about to keep Din in his office a little longer.

Din smiled and walked further into the office. “Yeah, we went on a hike yesterday, in the foothills. It was really fun.”

Luke leaned back in his chair, smiling, wondering at how easy they could talk to each other about certain things while others were so hard. “And did he walk by himself the whole time?”

Din chuckled, leaning against the wall in Luke’s office. “Part of the way. I had to carry him back.”

Nodding, Luke chuckled as well. “I thought as much. Did you have fun?”

“Oh, yeah. My friend Cara was with us. She likes horticulture and was giving us all kinds of info about the plant life. You should come with us next time we go.”

“I, ah, have dinner with my parents every Sunday. Sounds like fun, though.” Luke turned back to his computer, his mouth  dry again, but for a different reason this time. “Did you have fun on your date?” he couldn’t help but ask.

Din took a step closer to him. “Luke, listen-”

“Mr. Skywalker? Your nine o’clock is in the conference room waiting for you,” Min said, peeking her head inside Luke’s office. Min was Luke’s assistant, and usually was the one to greet the candidates that Luke interviewed.

“Thanks, Min. I’ll be right there.” Luke stood up, grabbing his iPad that he used to take notes during interviews, and pocketed his phone. “Have a good day, Din. I’ll see you later.”

Din didn’t respond, but he followed as Luke walked out of the room. Luke kept his face as passive as he could, knowing he had work to do, but inside he was breaking a little more. Cara had gone hiking with them. Did that mean she had spent the weekend? Luke thought he was going to be sick.

By the time Luke was done with the interview, Din was busy in his office. He walked into his own office, and shut the door. He was hoping that it would look like he was busy and no one would bother him. He got his wish; Monday was quite dull for him.

Out of self-preservation, Luke avoided Din fairly successfully for the remainder of the week. Luke would fake a phone call, or pretend to be wrapped up in something if Din stopped by. He tried to be pleasant, but he just couldn’t pretend that something wasn’t eating him alive. The problem was that if he stared at Din any longer the man would know something was up – or be concerned he was flipping out.

The worst part of all was that Din knew something was wrong. Luke saw the looks on his face as he was pretending to be busy; he was sad, confused and a couple of times it seemed like he was angry. By the time Friday rolled around again, Luke was concerned that he was ruining the actual friendship he had with the man.

“So, he doesn’t love you. Big deal. Lots of people don’t love you. You can still be friends. Stop being a coward,” Luke said to himself. He stood up and walked to the door to his office, and toward Din’s office. He had decided that he was going to take Leia’s advice and talk to him. He had avoided him all week, but this was his last chance before the weekend. Thankfully, Din was alone. Luke rapped lightly on the door to get his attention.

Din’s head jerked up and a smile played on his face. “Hey, Luke. How are you?”

“I’m good, you?”

“It’s Friday; can’t complain.” Din smiled, and Luke stared at the dimple on his cheek. “Haven’t seen you much this week. Everything ok?”

Luke swallowed. He could do this. “Oh yeah, you know. Just busy. Any plans this weekend?” He tried to make his voice sound light and airy; he was just a friend asking another friend about weekend plans. That was all.

Din smiled again, and Luke’s heart jolted a little. “Yeah, I was thinking about taking Grogu to the zoo tomorrow. You should come with us.”

Luke tried to smile back, his heart aching. “Sounds like fun.”

Din’s eyebrows went up. “You want to come with us?”

“If you were serious, sure, I’d love to. But if you were just offering to be polite, I don’t have to come,” Luke said, a genuine grin on his face.  _ I’ll just give him an out if he doesn’t want me to come. But this could be a perfect opportunity to talk to him outside of work. _

“I’d love for you to come with us. We are going to the Hanna City Zoo; do you want to meet us? Or do you want me to pick you up at your place?” Din grabbed his cell that was sitting on his desk. Luke struggled to reply as he watched Din’s features be lit up by his phone. “It opens at 10. I can pick you up around 9:45?”

Luke nodded as Din looked up. “Sure, that sounds good.” Luke proceeded to give Din his address, his excitement growing.  Uninterrupted time with Din; holy shit.

Din’s grin grew. “Great! Should be a lot of fun.”

Before Luke could reply, he heard a throat clearing behind him. Turning, he saw a man in jeans and a leather jacket, wearing a cowboy hat. “Well, damn. If I'd known someone as hot as you worked here, I may have taken Din up on his offer a few years ago.”

Luke’s eyes narrowed as the man continued to stare blatantly at Luke. The man looked him over, eyes scanning every inch of Luke. “Who are you?” Luke asked, his mouth in a thin line.

“This is my friend Cobb Vanth. Cobb, stop staring and get in here already.”

“Luke Skywalker,” Luke said, holding out his hand to Din’s friend. The appraisal continued as Cobb’s hands encased Luke’s.

“Damn nice to meet you,” he practically purred.

“Cobb,” Din said, his voice harsh. Cobb dropped Luke’s hand and pushed past him into Din’s office. Din stood up to greet his friend, who proceeded to step forward and kiss Din on the cheek.

Luke’s face fell and his heart damn near stopped. Din just rolled his eyes and smiled at Cobb; he didn’t look upset by the display, didn’t make a move to stop him and didn’t seem to mind that it was all happening within eyesight of Luke. 

“So, I should go. Let me know if you need to cancel tomorrow,” Luke said, awkwardly. Din’s eyes met his for a moment and he had a confused look on his face.

“No, tomorrow’s still on if that’s good for you?”

Luke nodded slowly, licking his dry lips again. “Sure,” he managed. “I have a meeting, so I’ll see you later. Nice to meet you, Cobb.”

Din sat down and Luke just caught him leaning his head against his hand before he turned around to go back to his office. He sat there in silence for a minute, hearing the harsh, whispered conversation in Din’s office. He couldn’t make out the words, but it sounded like Din was mad. Maybe he didn’t actually want Luke to come with him tomorrow? Maybe he really was just being polite?

Cobb left soon after, and Luke saw Din poke his head into his office. Luke was on a phone call though, so he just waved and went back to his office. Luke tried to stay busy the rest of the day. As he was leaving, he grabbed his cell phone to call Leia to ensure he didn’t have to talk to Din before he left.

“Hey, I'm just heading out. What's up?” Leia asked as she answered the phone.

“Oh, just wanted to tell you about my day,” Luke said, half waving to Din in his office. Din’s face was stoic, but he waved back. “Tomorrow at 9:45?” Luke asked, and Din smiled slightly and nodded. “Great, see you then.”

Luke continued to walk out of the building. “What was that? Who are you seeing tomorrow?”

“Din. He asked me to go to the zoo with him and his son.”

“Luke! I’m so happy for you! This gives you an opportunity to talk to him outside of work!”

“Yeah, but his son will be there.”

“So, don’t say anything like ‘I want to fuck your father’ and you’ll probably be just fine.” Luke laughed as Leia continued. “How old is his son again?”

“He’s five.”

“Ok, so he won’t understand if you are careful with your wording. Oh, Luke I’m so happy about this!”

“Well, before you get too happy, let me tell you what happened this afternoon.” Luke proceeded to fill her in on Cobb and how he had greeted Din. “Now I’m not so sure that Din really wants me to go with them tomorrow. But I don’t want to let him out of it.”

“Good! It’s about fucking time you two talked. This will give you a perfect excuse to just tell him how you feel.”

“I’m still not sure I can do that, Leia.”

“You have to! If you don’t tell him, how are you ever going to know how he feels? All these other people aside. They could just be friends, you know.”

“And he could have, like, a poly relationship or something. We don’t know.”

“Have you ever discussed sexual preference with him?” Leia asked, sighing slightly.

Luke felt himself get red. “No! Of course not!”

“Then don’t make judgements before you know for sure.”

“Leia, you didn’t see him with either one of them.”

“And you didn’t ask to get the full story.”

Luke got to his car and threw his briefcase in the passenger seat. “I am not owed anything. I can’t ask.”

Leia sighed again. “I hope you know what you are doing then. Tomorrow could be really great or horrible.”

Luke sighed, turning his car over. “I know.”

Luke’s thoughts were consumed by Din the entire drive back. After sitting in the parking lot for too long, just hoping to see Din coming out to get in his own car, he drove home slowly through the normal traffic. He was desperate to get to tomorrow morning, just to see how everything was going to go. His head kept telling him to keep it together...

But his heart was screaming the same words Leia had said: Talk to him. He squared his shoulders in the car, resolving himself to try.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed my version of Cobb. He's just so much fun! Our Luke may not be getting any hints his way, yes? We'll see what comes of this. LOL.
> 
> As always, a nod to the prompt from zombified419 that helped me write this fic for her. Please make sure to check out her amazing story Naberrie Blooms. I simply adore the words and characters. I know you'll love it.
> 
> More tomorrow!


	3. The Security Guard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's gift is that of awkwardness, and the fact that there never was any between me and my friend. We met and knew there was a kindred spirit within the other, becoming fast friends. We can talk to each other about anything without fear of it becoming uncomfortable. It's a rare gift, and an important one.
> 
> Thank you, zombified419, for this gift. Enjoy yours :)

Luke was on edge most of the evening by the time he got home. He was nervous as hell about the next day, and still upset about seeing Din with this Cobb person. He still had no idea what he was witnessing with these people. First Cara, and then now Cobb. Who was Din, anyway? Was he seeing both of them? Neither? And how could Luke ask without making it even more uncomfortable? 

He settled into the bathtub that night trying to soak away his frustration at the situation. Unfortunately, he couldn’t stop thinking. His brain literally wouldn’t shut off. He kept seeing Cara placing her hand on Din’s arm, and Cobb kissing his cheek. It felt like a gut punch every time those visuals came up. 

He finally gave up trying to relax and got out of the tub to grab an Advil PM. He knew that he wasn’t going to sleep without help, given his mental state, and he wanted to be as fresh as he could tomorrow. Though, the whole point in going out with Din was to talk to him and Luke was already rethinking that plan. Given what he had seen recently, he was sure that was a bad idea now. 

As he laid down, waiting for the pill to kick in, he realized that it didn’t matter. Even if Din was seeing them both, if he had any place in his life – or heart – for Luke, then he would take it. He was so in love with the man he’d share if he had to. If he _had_ to. He wanted Din, and had for so long, that he was willing to do just about anything to get him. 

If only Din felt the same way. 

Eventually, Luke fell into a dreamless sleep. He woke the next morning feeling slightly relieved that he had been able to avoid the conflicting Din-dreams that he had been having lately. He slowly got out of bed and went to shower and get dressed. He was eating bland toast when he heard a knock on his door. Glancing at the clock on his microwave, he realized that Din was early. It was only 8 am. 

Luke opened the door and his eyebrows lifted in surprise. “Leia? What are you doing here so early?” 

She walked in, standing just on the other side of the door. “I wanted to talk to you before you left. I didn’t know what time you were going, so I came over early.” 

Luke shut the door quietly. “Din’s picking me up at 9:45.” 

“Oh, that’s right. I heard you say that.” Leia sighed and walked into the kitchen, sitting down at the table. “I forgot.” 

“I didn’t think you ever forgot anything,” Luke teased lightly. Leia just stared up at him and his grin fell. He sat down next to her at the table, putting his head on her shoulder. “Thanks for coming over.” 

She put her arm around him. “Just promise me something.” 

“What’s that?” 

“Try to actually talk to him. Regardless of what you have seen recently. No matter what happens today. Promise me that you will tell him how you feel.” 

“I’ll try.” 

Leia sighed. “Do you remember that teacher we had in second grade? Mr. Yoda?” Luke nodded, huffing a laugh. “He always used to say, ‘do or do not, there is no try.’ Do you remember?” 

“Yeah, I remember.” Luke was silent for a moment. “I can’t promise because I don’t know how it’s going to be. I don’t want to say anything in front of his kid. But if I have an opportunity, I will try.” 

“Ok. I guess that’s all I can ask for.” Leia hugged him tight, kissing his head. “Call me when you get home and let me know?” 

“I will.” 

Leia left at that point, and Luke wandered around his condo trying to figure out his next steps. He had eaten, had coffee and gotten dressed already and he still had an hour to wait. He was nervous; antsy. Trying to wait was hard, but he managed to. He turned on the TV and got engrossed in a show, and before he knew it there was a knock on his door. 

Luke turned off the TV and jumped up, running over to the door, only to stop himself before flinging it open. He composed himself, took a deep breath and then opened the door, smiling at Din and his son. Din was wearing jeans, which Luke had never seen him wear before, and he was holding his son in his arms. 

“Good morning, Din. Grogu. How are you guys doing this morning?” Luke said as pleasantly as he could. Nerves were kicking him into full-on panic mode, but he was trying to resist it. 

Din smiled at him, and Luke’s eyes went immediately to his dimple. “We are good, aren’t we Grogu?” 

The boy was silent, staring up at Luke with big eyes. Luke smiled at him and Grogu smiled back hesitantly. “Are you excited to go to the zoo, Grogu?” The boy’s eyes got impossibly bigger as he nodded. “Me, too. I confess, I've never been to one before.” 

“Really? You didn’t go when you were younger?” Din asked, stepping inside Luke’s condo as Luke opened the door wider for him. 

Luke shook his head. “Never made it out there, for some reason.” 

“Well, I’m glad I invited you to come with us, then.” Din set Grogu down and stood in front of Luke. For a long uncomfortable moment, they stared at each other before Luke turned away. 

“Let me just grab my shoes and we can go.” 

“Grab a jacket, too. Looks like it may rain later.” 

“Got it.” Luke was already walking toward his room to grab his shoes. He got a jacket as well and walked back into the living room. Din was looking at the pictures Luke had on his fireplace while Grogu’s eyes were focused on the view outside. Luke sat down on the couch and put his shoes on, glancing up at Din a few times. 

“Is this you? And Leia?” Din asked, pointing to a picture on the side of the mantle. 

Luke finished tying his shoe and stood up, walking over to get a closer look. “Yeah, on our fifth birthday. Father had hired a whole damn circus and she and I were exhausted. Mom took that photo when we had decided we were done for the day.” 

Din chuckled. “What is it that you are in? It looks like a treehouse?” 

Luke chuckled also. “Yeah, we climbed into our treehouse thinking it would keep us away from all the people and noise. We were out like lights in a few moments. Mom and Dad were frantic looking for us, but when they found us, Mom insisted on taking a picture before they moved us to our beds.” 

Din’s finger touched the picture softly, and Luke held his breath. Luke knew that he and his sister had looked a lot alike back then, even if he could tell the difference not everyone could. Din’s finger was touching Luke’s face lightly, almost lovingly. But he was sure that wasn’t why he was doing it. 

“You were a cute kid, Luke.” 

Luke laughed, trying to ease the tension in his body. “Yeah, funny how people grow out of things, huh?” Din’s eyes flicked up to Luke’s, but he didn’t say anything. “Ready to go?” 

Din moved his hand away from the picture, and turned toward Grogu. “Come on, kid. Let’s get going. You wanna see the animals today, right?” 

Grogu smiled and ran up to Din, who scooped him up. Luke smiled and gestured for them to go ahead of him, before grabbing his jacket. He doubled-checked that he had his wallet and phone, along with his sunglasses, before locking the door. 

The ride to the zoo was extremely uncomfortable for Luke. He was in the passenger seat next to Din, and no one said one word the whole way. Din was a quiet man in general, and it appeared that his son was as well. By the time they pulled into the already crowded parking lot, Luke thought he was going to go crazy from the silence. 

They walked up and purchased their tickets, then made their way inside behind the rest of the crowd. As they got closer to the gates, he heard Din swear under his breath. 

“What? Something wrong?” Luke asked, glancing around. 

“No. Just...a friend is working today. I didn’t know he was going to be here.” 

“Is that a bad thing?” 

Din sighed, shifting Grogu to his other hip. “We’ll see.” 

Luke’s nerves hit another high as they got closer and a tall, broad chested man stepped forward close to Din. He immediately put his arms around Din’s shoulders, hugging both him and Grogu tight. 

“Din! How the hell are you? Been forever, man.” 

“Good, Boba, how are you?” 

“Can’t complain, man. All’s good you know. Who’s this?” Boba leaned back, catching Luke’s eye. 

“This is my coworker, Luke Skywalker. Luke, this is my friend Boba Fett.” 

Luke stuck out his hand, but Boba ignored it, pulling Luke in for a tight hug. “Great to finally meet you. Heard a lot about you.” 

Luke was stunned, but hugged him back lightly. He pulled back and smiled as Din growled, “That’s enough, Boba.” 

“Sorry man. Hey, I have a break in a couple hours. I’ll come find you.” Then Boba left to go back to his station, without comment from Din. 

“Sorry,” Din muttered, walking into the park with Luke. “He gets a little excited.” 

“Oh, uh, it’s fine,” Luke said, still a little stunned by the man’s actions. Now there was a third person he had to wonder about...though, Din had said he was a friend, right? Maybe that’s all it was. 

The day was a flurry of activity, and they were never alone. The zoo was crowded and there were constant hordes of people all around them. At one point, Luke thought that they would have some privacy when they went on a boat tour, but Grogu had sat in-between them. Luke bit the inside of his cheek as he stared out over the water. 

They stopped for lunch at the massive food court and ate in silence. Grogu would ask questions now and then, but mostly it was just awkward. Luke ate with his eyes on everyone around him, rather than focusing on the man in front of him. He was just finishing when Boba appeared again. 

“Hey, there you guys are.” Boba came and sat down next to Din, holding his own food tray. Din glanced at Luke before turning to his friend. 

“How’s work going so far, Boba?” Din asked, with another side glance at Luke. 

“Oh, crazy, you know. Kids everywhere, parents crazy because of all the kids. The usual.” Boba took a large bite of the burger on his plate before looking straight at Luke. “How are you enjoying your date?” 

“Boba!” Din said, at the same time Luke said, “It’s not a date!” Din looked at Luke for a moment, before looking down at his food. 

Boba’s grin dropped as he glanced between them. “So, you two work together, huh?” Luke nodded, but was getting sick to his stomach again. “Cool. How long have you known each other?” 

“A little over two years,” Din answered, his voice quiet. Luke’s eyes immediately focused on him, trying to determine what had happened. He seemed fine a few minutes ago. 

The silence was deafening; considering the noise around them, it shouldn't have felt as poignant as it was. Luke was getting extremely uncomfortable and couldn’t stand to do this anymore. 

“Hey, so I think I’m going to head home.” Luke glanced at Boba, but settled his eyes back on Din. 

Din looked up at him with an unreadable look on his face. “You don’t want to stick around for the tiger and lion den tour?” 

“I’m a little tired. I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night. Next time,” Luke said, gathering up the trash from his lunch. He glanced at Grogu, who was looking at him with big eyes. “It was great to see you again, buddy.” 

Luke threw his trash away and then walked back to the table. Din and Boba were in a hushed conversation when he got back, but they stopped as soon as Luke got close. Luke held his hand out to Din, shaking it before doing the same to Boba. 

“Thanks for the invite, Din. It was a lot of fun. Boba, nice to meet you.” Luke started to turn when Din stopped him. 

“Wait, Luke. We can go, too. I drove us, remember?” 

“No, it’s fine, really. You and Grogu stay. I’ll just get an uber.” 

Din eyed him for a minute. “Are you sure?” 

“Yeah, no big deal. See you Monday.” Then he turned and walked out of the park, feeling even worse about the entire situation. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well.....THAT was awkward. Poor Luke...and poor Din, too, honestly. And Leia has had enough; she's ready for it to be all over with.
> 
> Alsooooo, I won't apologize for that awful Yoda joke. It made me snort. :)
> 
> Let me know your thoughts so far of these two!
> 
> Please make sure to check out zombified419's lovely story, Naberrie Blooms. It's a wonderful jaunt into a Star Wars AU world, with hilarious and sweet interactions. I know you'll enjoy it.


	4. The Bitch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's gift speaks to the determination my friend has to not let me wallow in self-pity or self-doubt. She lifts me up and makes sure I remember who I am and how I got here. 
> 
> The Luke and Leia interaction is on point here. Zombified419 is the Luke to my Leia, or Leia to my Luke - which ever! My sister is spirit, regardless.
> 
> You are truly a gift. Enjoy the next chapter :)

“You can’t hide in there forever!” 

“Try me.” 

“Luke, come on! You’ve missed two days of work! I know something happened at the zoo; and I'm not leaving until you let me in!” 

“Leia, I just want to be left alone. Please, just leave me alone.” 

Luke was lying face down on his bed, his bedroom door locked – because it was the only door in the condo that Leia didn’t have a key to – feeling the depression setting in. After he’d gotten home from the zoo, he ordered a ton of food online and then closeted himself in his condo. He cancelled on his parents again, ignored Leia’s calls, and texted her to say he was sick on Monday. And then, the same story today, Tuesday. Leia apparently wasn’t taking it any longer, though. 

She knocked loudly on the door. “I am not kidding. I will sleep here pounding on your door all night long!” 

“You can’t pound on the door in your sleep, Leia.” 

“Watch me.” 

Luke sighed and got out of bed. He opened the door for her and she regarded him with a stern look. “You look like shit.” 

“Nice to see you, too.” 

“Seriously; when was the last time you showered? Or shaved? Or changed your clothes; god, Luke, you are a fucking mess!” 

“Language, dear sister. Mother would never approve.” 

“I don’t give a shit about that, Luke. What the hell is wrong with you?” She stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at him. 

Luke turned around and went back to bed, getting back under the covers, lying down on his stomach. He closed his eyes as he felt the bed dip, Leia sitting right next to him. “Did you talk to him?” 

Luke huffed out a laugh. “Nope.” 

“Did you try?” 

“There were people around every damn second. That zoo is crazy busy; there was no opportunity.” 

“What about lunch? Were there people next to you at lunch?” 

“No, but a friend of his showed up. Teased me about being on a date, and Din looked really upset about the joke. Like, he looked angry that his friend had even made the suggestion. I wanted to die, Leia.” 

Leia soothed his hair back from the side of his face. “He was mad at the suggestion that it was a date? I don’t understand that.” 

Luke shifted so that his head was on Leia’s lap. Her fingers continued to run through his hair in a soothing manner. “His friend asked me how I was enjoying the date, and Din practically yelled at him. Then he got all quiet and wouldn’t look at me. So, I left.” 

“Oh, Luke...” 

“It’s fine. I'm fine. I just couldn’t face him. But I'll come back to work tomorrow; I promise.” 

“You aren’t fine.” 

Luke huffed a laugh, shifting so he could look up at her. “No, but I need to be. I can't pine for him anymore. I have decided to focus on moving on and finding someone else...eventually.” 

“Luke-” 

“No, I mean it, Leia. I'm wasting away because of this. I need to stop and figure out how to live my life without him.” Luke choked up a little at the last bit, and he felt tears sting his already sore eyes again. He rolled over, lying back down on his stomach, stuffing his head into the pillow. 

“Yeah, you seem fine.” 

“Please go, Leia. I just need time to myself.” 

“You need a good kick in the ass.” Leia stood up but didn’t leave. “I’m betting this is all just a misunderstanding. He loves you, Luke! I know it!” 

“Leia, I love you, so please take what I'm about to say with all the affection in the world. Please don’t bullshit me, and don’t say things like that again. I literally, physically, can’t hear it right now.” Luke’s voice was slightly muffled from the pillow, but he knew Leia heard. 

“I’ll leave you to your useless pining then. You are coming back tomorrow?” 

“Yeah.” 

Leia sighed. “Ok, Luke. Pine tonight, but be ready to work tomorrow.” 

“Ok.” 

She leaned over and kissed the back of his head. “I love you, brother.” 

“I love you, too, sister.” 

Luke heard Leia leave, but still waited a few minutes before he got up. Walking into the bathroom, he stopped and looked at his reflection in the mirror. His hair was a mess, he had several days of hair growth on his face and his clothes were dirty and rumpled. Now he understood what Leia was saying. He pulled his clothes off, dropping them in a basket before turning on the shower. 

He scrubbed everything, making sure that he was completely clean. When he got out, before he dressed, he shaved. He stared at his reflection again. He looked better, but the dark circles under his eyes would give him away. To anyone paying attention, anyway. 

He sighed and made his way out to the kitchen to eat before going back to bed. He glanced out at the setting sun, and the splashes of color that were spreading all over his living room. Even the colors weren’t helping. 

Luke ate leftover takeout but didn’t really taste it, before heading back to bed. He popped a couple of Advil PMs and prayed for sleep as he stared at the ceiling. 

The next morning, Luke got up with a groan, determined to live again...to forget Din and embrace being alone. Luke knew that what he had said to Leia about moving on wasn’t possible. After loving Din as long as he had, he couldn’t go back. He just had to move on and live without him. That was the only true option. 

Din’s office door was shut when he got to work, and he didn’t look in. He made his way into his office and settled in, starting to sort through all the emails he had missed. It was almost an hour later before he heard a light knock on his door. Before turning, he knew who it was. 

“Luke? How are you feeling?” Din asked, his face looking concerned. 

Luke smiled – or, at least, he tried to – at him. “Better, thank you.” 

“Look, I wanted to apologize about Saturday.” 

“It’s fine, really. I was just tired. Guess I was getting sick,” Luke said, lying easily. 

“No, I mean about what my friend said. About it being a date, I wanted to explain-” 

“There’s nothing to explain. He got the wrong idea, and we both set him straight. Not a big deal.” Luke shot a smile at Din before looking back to his computer. “Did you and Grogu have fun the rest of the day?” He didn’t make eye contact again. 

Din sighed. “Yeah, it was fun. I’m glad you’re feeling better. Have a good day.” 

Luke heard Din leave and he felt the tears prickle his eyes again. He shook them off and continued to work. Thankfully, the day went by fairly quickly – there was so much to catch up on he didn’t think about Din for the rest of the day. 

Din was gone by the time he left, and he was grateful. He left and went home, taking a bite of a sandwich before heading to bed. Luke hoped that eventually this whole ‘living his life’ thing would begin to work. 

The next day, he didn’t see Din until lunch. Din knocked on his door lightly, walking in the office. Luke looked up and smiled, painfully, at him. Din set down a container on his desk. “My homemade chicken soup. I thought I'd bring you something that always helps me when I'm sick.” 

Luke felt the tears coming back. “Th-thank you, Din. That’s very kind of you.” 

“I’m betting that since you were sick means you weren’t eating well. I hope this helps.” Din smiled at him, and then turned and walked out of Luke’s office. Luke cradled the soup all the way home later that day, and ate a little for dinner. It was amazingly good, but the sentiment behind it – that he was sure Din didn’t mean in the way Luke had taken it – was the best part of the soup. 

The next day, Luke walked in his office and heard Din raising his voice in his. He stood just on the other side of the door, listening. 

“I said no, dammit. I’m fucking done with this shit! Get out and leave me the hell alone already Bo-Katan.” 

“You have no idea what you are doing here, do you? You are miserable and a sad sack of shit. I'm fucking done. So is Cara. All of us, Din. Fucking do something already.” 

“There’s nothing to do. I told you, there wasn’t anything there to begin with.” 

“Cara, Cobb and Boba all said-” 

“And they need to focus on their own lives. Tell them to back the hell off, too.” 

Luke set his things down and walked into Din’s office. “Is everything ok?” 

Din looked up. The anger was still evident on his face until he met Luke’s eyes. “Yeah, fine. My friend was just leaving.” 

The woman rolled her eyes, sticking her hand out to Luke. “Bo-Katan Kryze.” 

Luke took her hand, almost flinching in pain as her strong grip squeezed his hand. “Luke Skywalker.” 

“I figured.” Bo-Katan stared at him and Luke felt like he was being sized up. “I was having a private conversation.” 

“And it sounded like you were getting sort of bitchy at him, in my parent’s building.” Luke’s eyes held steady with hers, as hers narrowed. 

“I wasn’t asking your opinion. I was talking to my friend.” 

“And I don’t appreciate the way you were talking to _my_ friend.” They stared at each other for a few minutes. “Din, is she really a friend of yours? I’m happy to have her thrown out.” 

“Look, I'm leaving,” she said, turning around to face Din again. “But think about what I said? You are being a fucking idiot, and you know it!” Bo-Katan glared at Din before pushing around Luke. 

“I’m sorry about her,” Din said, standing up from his desk. He walked around the side of the desk, leaning against the side. “She’s a little high strung.” 

Luke smiled slightly. “Another friend?” 

“Yeah; we go way back.” Din smiled, and Luke’s heart fell once again. “But she can be a real bitch.” 

“I heard you guys yelling at each other and just sort of reacted. I’m sorry I intruded.” 

“No, Luke, it’s fine, really. I’ve been wanting to talk to you anyway.” 

Luke’s phone buzzed in his hand and he glanced down. “My mother is on her way down. Can we talk later?” 

“Dinner? At my house tonight?” Din asked quickly. 

Luke was so shocked, for a second, he just looked at him. Finally, he smiled slightly. “Yeah. That sounds nice.” 

~~ 

“And you promise? You’ll be at dinner this weekend?” Padmé asked him, holding her hands over his cheeks. 

“I promise, Mother.” Luke smiled at her and she pressed her lips against his forehead. 

“Ok, Luke, I’ll see you later. I love you!” 

“Love you, too,” Luke called after her, turning back to his computer. His phone rang and he answered, seeing Din come to stand in his doorway. “Yeah, Leia, what’s up?” he asked, waving Din in. 

“Did Mom catch you?” 

“Yeah, she just left.” 

“You heading out?” 

“Yeah,” Luke said, glancing up at Din. He had his jacket thrown over his arm, leaning against the door jam. “I’ll call you later?” 

“Why are you being weird?” 

“Bye, Leia.” Luke ended the call, standing up. “Ready?” 

“Yeah, do you want to follow me? Or, you can ride with me and I can bring you back for your car later?” 

“Uh, yeah, we can leave my car. Are you sure that’s ok?” 

“No problem; come on, let’s go.” 

Luke stood up, smiling, grabbing his computer and the rest of his stuff. He followed Din outside, through the maze of cars until they got to Din’s. He unlocked it and Luke got in, setting his things on the floor. He glanced at Din, who smiled at him. Luke smiled back, leaning against the seat, his imagination going wild.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is really no other word for Bo-Katan, so this chapter titled itself. Never been a fan, and even though the actress is great, I still don't like this character. Oh well. Made for some fun interaction, if nothing else.
> 
> I hope you are all enjoying. Good stuff coming up!
> 
> Thanks go to my beta, my BBBB, zombified419 for always helping me with my stories. Please be sure to check out her story Naberrie Blooms - I just finished beta-ing another chapter of this fic yesterday, and I'm so excited for everyone to read what's coming. I am sure you will love it as much as I do.


	5. The Quiet One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today's chapter speaks of my friend's quiet resolve and quiet beauty. She can definitely be fiery, but she has a natural quiet resolve that is very calming. She listens and understands, opting for the positive side. It's breathtaking at moments where my negativity seems to overwhelm me.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

The first ten minutes of the ride to Din’s house was quiet. It seemed to Luke that Din wanted to say something several times, but nothing ever came out. Luke had never been to Din’s house, and had no idea where they were heading. Finally, Luke decided to break the silence.

“So, where do you live?” Luke glanced at Din, appreciating his profile more than he should. His new idea of living alone wasn’t working out so well.

“I live just outside of the city.”

“Wow, in the country? That’s great. I love living in the city, though. The convenience of having everything close by is too enticing to leave.”

Din chuckled, coming to a stop at a red light. His eyes flicked over to Luke. “It’s a great neighborhood.  Grogu has lots of school friends nearby; living there makes sure that he has lots of kids to play with and great parks  close by .”

Luke nodded, smiling at him. “Yeah, that makes sense.”

“Luke,” Din started, pausing for long enough that Luke got nervous.

“What’s wrong? Do you need to take me back?” He bit his lip. Maybe this was all too good to be true.

“No! I mean, I want you to come for dinner. I’m just...I wanted to say something...” Din started driving again, and stopped talking.

“Go ahead. Tell me.”

“I. ..ah ... Grogu is at a friend’s house. So, it’s just us tonight. Is  that ok?”

Luke swallowed thickly. “Y-yeah, that’s fine.”

“Ok, good,” he said, focusing still on the road. 

They lapsed into silence and Luke was getting uncomfortable again. Maybe he should have taken his own car...Luke ran his hand through his hair. He had wanted this, didn’t he? Time alone with Din outside of work to finally have this conversation with him. And now that he was in the exact situation he wanted to be in, he couldn’t find the words.

So, Luke stayed quiet.

Eventually, Din pulled into a quiet neighborhood and Luke could see why Din enjoyed it. There were trees surrounding almost every house, lawns stretched around each house dotted with flowers or bushes. They were literally surrounded by green.

“It’s beautiful here,” Luke said, eyes flitting all over the neighborhood. They drove past a park, and Luke could see at least a dozen children on the playground. Din pulled into a house directly across the park, easing the car into the garage.

“It’s nice. I found this place just after I adopted  Grogu .”

Luke nodded. “I remember. If I recall, we talked about a quieter life for your new son. I just didn’t realize it was so far out at the time.”

Din smiled at Luke, opening his door to get out of the car. “I never thanked you for that.”

“For what?” Luke asked, getting out of the car and following Din inside.

“For talking to me after I adopted Grogu. For helping me with the idea of moving. For being my friend.”

Luke smiled, but inside he was turning over the word in his head. Seemed like Din only thought of Luke as a friend. For a moment, Luke’s heart stopped, but he recovered. At least he had his answer. Now he could continue through the rest of the night understanding where they both stood.

“I’m always happy to help my friends, Din. No thanks are necessary.” Luke and Din stopped just inside the door, in the entry way for the kitchen. “Now, what are we making?”

Din smiled at Luke. “Well, we have a few things in the  fridge . Or, we can order in.”

“You get food delivered all the way out here?” Luke crossed his arms, leaning against the island in the kitchen. Din leaned against the other counter, smirking. His hands rested on either side of him as he stared at Luke.

“All kinds. You think there isn’t any food out here in the sticks, Luke?”

Luke threw his head back and laughed. “Ok, then, country boy, what do you want to eat?”

“A buddy of mine owns a pizza place.”

“Another friend, Din?”

Din shrugged. “I have a few.”

“I’ve seen.” Luke smirked, feeling his stomach fall slightly in total contrast to the smile on his face. He was going to have to be careful about his facial reactions to Din. “Pizza is fine.”

Din grabbed his cell out of his pocket, unlocking it and scrolling. “Any kind in particular?”

“Whatever you want is fine. Except anchovies.”

“Who eats anchovies?” Din asked,  chuckling, glancing up at Luke.

“Uh, fish?” Luke laughed, tearing his eyes away from Din. Looking at him was becoming almost painful. He would have to be  cautious about the staring. He would think more about the situation at home, when he could be sad in private. While he was here, he was ‘friend Luke’ and he needed to act as such.

Din laughed, pressing a button on his phone and bringing it up to his ear. “No fish in this house. Hey, man! Yeah, long time...listen, I want to make an order. No, I want...yeah, that’s the one. Thanks, man. How long? Ok, great, see you then.” Din ended the call and put his phone back in his pocket. “Should be here in 30 to 40 minutes.”

“Great.” Luke didn’t know what else to say. There was awkwardness in the air as they lapsed into silence again. Din kept glancing at him, and Luke could feel his eyes on him, but he kept his head focused anywhere other than Din.

“Do you want the tour?”

“Sure!” Luke said with fake enthusiasm. The longer he was there, the more he just wanted to go home and curl into a ball.

Din pushed away from the counter, walking toward the doorway. “Come on, then.” Luke followed him through the door into a lovely living room. There was a large fireplace in the center of the room, with comfortable looking gray couches on either side. A small loveseat sat in the middle, facing the fireplace. The real view, though, was through the back patio door. Din walked purposefully toward the door, before motioning to Luke to follow. 

They stepped outside and Luke almost gasped. “Din, this is breathtaking. And I thought my view was amazing.”

Din chuckled, standing beside Luke. “Your view is great, but it’s all city. This is the view that made me buy the house.”

Luke gazed out over the expanse of the backyard. Din had a spa in one corner next to a fire pit and a BBQ area. Beyond that was a large open grassy yard with a swing set in the far corner. A thick crop of trees dotted the back of the property that continued to the base of a mountain behind the house. Even with the setting sun, Luke could see almost to the top of the mountain.

“I had no idea this kind of thing existed past the border of the city.”

“Maybe you need to get out more, Luke.”

Luke’s eyes flitted to Din, noticing that he was already watching him. Luke licked his lips unconsciously. “Yeah, maybe.” Luke held his gaze before feeling an ache in his heart that caused him to look away. “I imagine that you spend a lot of time out here. I know I would.”

Din placed his hand on the small of Luke’s back – which caused sparks to fly up Luke, making him have to suppress a moan – steering him to the patio furniture to the left. “Come and sit. We have time before the food gets here.” They sat down, inches away from each other, both just staring out across the backyard. “Yeah, I’m out here a lot.  Grogu likes to play, and I just sit and read, or just stare into the  forest . It's amazingly peaceful.”

“Yeah. I see that.”

They got quiet again but Luke’s brain wasn’t shutting off so easily. He had a vision of a future that would never happen. He and Din holding hands and watching Grogu play, just enjoying being together. He felt tears prick his eyes and he blinked fast to get rid of them. He couldn’t lose it now – he just couldn’t!

Luke felt Din’s hand on his leg; a soft touch. “Are you ok?”

“Yeah, I think I'm just overwhelmed by this view. It's breathtaking.” Din removed his hand and Luke almost sobbed. Luke took a large breath, trying to  will his body to calm down.

“Luke?”

“Yeah?” He didn’t look at him; he just couldn’t.

“Can I tell you something?”

Luke kept his eyes forward. “Of course!” The fake enthusiasm was going to be too much for him in a minute.

“I think you-” Din was cut off by the sound of the doorbell ringing. Din sighed and stood up. “I’ll be right back. That may be our food.”

Luke checked his watch, thinking that it couldn’t possibly be the food that fast, but he didn’t say anything. Luke glanced at Din as he went back inside the house, his breath catching slightly once he was alone.

“Get it the fuck together, Luke! Don't lose it here!” He admonished himself, both hands coming up to his eyes. He rubbed too hard, probably making everything worse, as he tried to clear the tears that kept threatening to fall.

When Din didn’t come back right away, Luke decided to go see what was going on. He walked inside to see Din holding his son, talking to a tall man with dark brown hair. The man had a stern presence, but that didn’t seem to affect Din, who was smiling at him.

“It’s no trouble,” Din was saying. He set  Grogu down, crouching to look at him. “Why don’t you go run and get it? That way you can get back to your friend.”  Grogu took off running down the hallway and Din looked up at Luke. “Hey, Luke, come meet my friend Axe  Woves . Axe, this is Luke.”

Luke walked forward, weary as hell about meeting yet another of Din’s friends. He stuck out his hand, to which Axe glanced at – glared at – before putting his own out to shake Luke’s. Luke glanced up at the man, his eyes meeting a cold, hard steel gaze. “Hello, Axe. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Hmm,” was all he said.

“Axe has a son  Grogu’s age; they decided that the boys wanted a sleepover and  Grogu wanted to come get some of his things,” Din explained, before turning to Axe. “Is he being good for you guys?” Axe nodded, but didn’t say anything in response. “I appreciate you taking him last minute. It was really nice of you.”

Luke was mulling over that last statement when  Grogu came running back in. He had a backpack over his shoulder, and he was carrying a large stuffed bear. He held his hands out to Din, who scooped him up quickly.

“Be good, kid. I’ll see you in the morning, ok?”

“Ok, Daddy,” came the soft reply.

Din looked back up at Axe, who held his hands out for  Grogu . Luke watched as  Grogu went to him easily, and his heart constricted again. Then, Axe leaned in like he was going to kiss Din. Instead, he pressed his cheek against Din’s and whispered something in his ear.

The casual closeness that they shared was almost too much for Luke. He turned away to stare out the back patio again, trying to get himself under control. He heard Din chuckle, and say ‘thank you’ to Axe. Luke turned around and waved to them, a fake smile plastered to his face. Axe waved, as did  Grogu , before turning to walk out the front door.

Luke turned back to the view, sitting on the arm of the loveseat. He took a deep breath, feeling himself start to cascade out of control. His chest felt like someone was sitting on it, and his head was starting to pound in that way that happens when you are holding back tears. He was going to need to get himself together fast or he was going to lose it in front of Din.

“Food should be here soon,” Din said, leaning against the loveseat next to Luke. 

“Great!”

Din turned to look at Luke, his eyes scrutinizing everything. “Are you ok?”

“Yeah! I’m great. Just hungry.”

Din shifted so he was in front of Luke, grabbing Luke’s chin and tilting it up. “You don’t look ok.”

Luke huffed out a laugh, trying not to panic over Din touching him. “I’m fine. Really.”

Din stepped back, letting Luke’s face go. “We are friends, right?”

Luke swallowed. “Right.”

“Then why are you lying to me?”

“I’m not lying to you!”

“Luke, I can see it written all over your face! You look like you could burst into tears. What the hell is going on? Why won’t you talk to me?”

And that’s when Luke snapped. Maybe it was the fact that he hadn’t slept well in a month; maybe it was being inside Din’s house; maybe it was seeing yet another person who was allowed to be closer to this man than Luke was. Whatever the reason, that’s when everything finally came tumbling out.

“I have been patiently trying to figure out how to talk to you about this. And I guess my patience has run out. I see you with Cara, touching your arm. I see you with Cobb, getting kissed on the cheek. I see you with Boba, being hugged like he was trying to put out a fire on your back. I see you with Bo-Katan, who is passionately angry with you, who’s memory caused you to smile. And now I see you with Axe, pressing up against you. I've seen too much, and my heart can’t take it. I'm physically hurting watching all of this. I can’t be here, Din. I need to go home.”

Luke stood up, trying to ignore how wide Din’s eyes were and the look of panic on his face.

“Luke, just stop, please.” Din ran a hand through his hair. 

“It’s fine, look, I’m just going home, ok?” Din grabbed Luke by the arms and pushed him against the loveseat. “Din! What in-” 

Din stopped Luke by pressing their lips together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so, I am sorry about this cliffy. I promise it will be worth the wait.
> 
> What do we think of basket case Luke? And Din, finally being done waiting and wondering? All good things are coming!
> 
> And to zombified419, a giant thank you not only for the prompt but for being the best beta in the world. Please be sure to check out her story Naberrie Blooms. It's lovely.


	6. The Patient Man

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's gift speaks of the easy ability I've had sharing my past with my friend. She listens and never judges me based on my previous actions. She's supportive without judgement, which is rare indeed.
> 
> While everyone may be upset with the direction I took this chapter, the gift of patience is a strong one. Zombified419, I hope you enjoy the chapter :)

“So, that’s him. He's really cute, Din.” Cara said, leaning against Din’s desk.

“I know, Cara.”

“You need to just ask him out already.”

Din sighed, leaning back in his chair. “I’ve tried, I don’t think he believes that’s what I'm saying. I think that I'm not saying something right.”

“You and I both know that words aren’t your strong suit.”

“Yeah, that’s the problem.”

Cara regarded Din carefully. “You love him.”

Din met her gaze. “For almost two years.”

“Why don’t we invite him to dinner with us? Maybe we can just open up the possibility that you guys can be friends outside of work?”

“I don’t even know how to do that.”

“Just ask him if he has dinner plans. Then, if he says no, invite him to join us! We can meet at the restaurant after we get the kid.”

Din ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t know...”

“Trust me! It could totally work!”

Din stood up, gathering all of his things and getting ready to leave for the weekend. “Ok, I’m going to do this.”

“Awesome! I can’t wait to get to know him. If you of all people fell in love with the guy, he has to be amazing.”

Din glanced at her, smirking, before walking out of his office. He poked his head into Luke’s, noting that he looked upset. “Luke? Are you ok?” He couldn’t  _ not _ ask him that question.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking. You heading out?” Luke’s head popped up at Din’s question, and he sort of  grimaced in response.

“Yeah, Cara and I are having dinner. Do you, uh, have dinner plans?” Din shuffled a little, hoping that this would work.

“Oh, I’m just heading home. Have a great time, you two.” Luke stood up and grabbed his laptop and cell, putting them in his bag. Din’s heart fell at the response. “Tell Grogu hi for me?”

“Uh, sure. Have a good night, Luke.”

“Thanks, Din. You, too. Cara,” Luke said, nodding toward her before practically running out the door.

“Damn,” Cara said, putting her hand on Din’s arm. “I’m sorry.”

“Doesn’t matter. Something tells me that I need to get better at talking to that stubborn man.”

~~

Din struggled during the week after Luke had asked him about his ‘date’ with Cara. He couldn’t understand why Luke thought that he would have gone out on a date with her. He and Cara went way back; they’d known each other since they were kids. She was like a sister to him, and the thought of dating her wasn’t even a factor in his head at all. Not to mention the fact that she wasn’t the right gender.

The week felt like it was stretching out, and his despair was starting to grow. He was frustrated with Luke for not understanding that he was trying to ask him out all the time – but most of all, he was angry with himself for not asking right. There had been several times over the last two years that Din had attempted to get Luke outside of the office just to feel him out; see if Luke would be interested in dating. Din wasn’t even sure if Luke was gay, but he had a suspicion.

There had been times over the years that Din had caught Luke staring at him; he was pretty sure Luke was interested. Din just felt like it was all his fault that they weren’t together. He was never good at verbalizing anything. Even when he was young, he was always quieter than others in his class. There really wasn’t a reason; he just found that he didn’t have much to say. That really wasn’t helping with Luke, though.

He was waiting for his friend Cobb to stop by that Friday, when Luke stopped by his office. Din squared his shoulders and tried to ask Luke out again – and almost fell out of his chair due to shock when Luke accepted. Ok, it was the zoo and  Grogu was coming along, but Din would take anything! Din couldn’t help his grin from getting bigger. 

He had finally, successfully, asked Luke out!

His joy didn’t last long, though, because Cobb showed up. And that bastard was his usual over the top friendly – almost to the point of being uncomfortable. Din rolled his eyes as Cobb’s blatant flirting with Luke. Cobb knew better; Din had made it clear that Luke was not available when he’d called Cobb earlier. His friend had a BBQ he was giving Din for his backyard, so Din had only invited him so they could transfer it to his car.

Din had to step in when Cobb’s flirting started making Luke uncomfortable, and then the crazy bastard kissed Din on the cheek. Din smirked at him, used to Cobb’s antics. But Luke’s face fell; that’s when Din knew there was a bigger problem.

After Luke left, Din turned to Cobb. “Dude, come on. You know how I feel about him, why would you act like that?”

Cobb smirked, leaning against Din’s desk. “He’s hot; I forgot.”

Din laughed. “You are  incorrigible . Keep your hands off; he’s not available, I told you.”

Cobb held up his hands in self-defeat. “I know, I know! I’m sorry, man. But you guys are going out tomorrow?”

Din’s smile fell. “I guess? I invited him to the zoo with me and Grogu.”

“Well, that’s good, right? I mean, seeing him outside of work has been the plan for a while, right?”

Din nodded, grabbing his things. “Yeah, and I've asked him a hundred times and this is the one time he said yes. I don’t know...I just feel like he doesn’t want to go.”

“Nah, man, he likes you. I can tell.”

Shaking his head, Din started walking toward the door to his office. “Come on, jackass. Let's get that BBQ.”

~~

Din stared at the picture in front of him on Luke’s mantle; it was of him and Leia and they were asleep in a tree house. Din stroked Luke’s face, almost in awe at what a cute kid he had been. Luke made an offhand comment about not being cute still, and Din’s eyes went to Luke’s face. Luke looked slightly flushed at the comment, but Din didn’t press the issue.

They left shortly after that and Din started to lose his nerve. He wanted to talk to Luke and tell him how he felt, but the words failed him again. He simply couldn’t find the right thing to say or the right way to say it. The whole drive to the zoo, he just concentrated on how happy he was and how to tell Luke everything.

Din was happily walking next to Luke when he spotted Boba. Boba was a man that Din’d had a brief couple of dates with a few years prior. It was never sexual and had ended fairly quickly when they both realized it wasn’t right. They had become friends, but Boba was certainly not a quiet person. Din felt sure that Boba was going to say something to embarrass him.

Din had been lucky; the interaction at the front of the park wasn’t too bad. Luke looked mildly uncomfortable, but as soon as they left everything seemed fine. They walked throughout the park and Din’s hand itched to grab Luke’s, but he held back. He didn’t want to ruin anything by moving too fast.

By lunchtime, though, Din was still struggling to find the words he wanted to say. He focused on eating, making sure his son ate, and thought hard. How did he start the conversation? Din looked up to see Boba coming over and his heart sank again. He was trying to find a way to tell Luke that he was in love with him, and he didn’t need an overly aggressive ex in the way.

When Luke said it wasn’t a date, Din’s fear compounded in his head. He had asked Luke out; he was sure of it. So, either Luke was completely dense or he hadn’t realized it. Either way, that made the entire effort null, and Din had no idea how to fix it. He lowered his head thinking, hearing Boba whisper ‘I’m sorry, man.’

Boba tried to steer the conversation away from what he’d just fucked up, but Luke wasn’t having it. As soon as Luke said he was leaving, Din knew that he was out of chances. He watched Luke walk out of the park and sighed.

“It’s cool, man. Really. He likes you.”

“Why do people, who have just chased him away, keep telling me that?” Din growled.

“Your friends love you and want to make sure you are happy?”

“I’m starting to wonder if that’s even true at this point.”

~~

When Monday came and Luke didn’t show up for work, Din was worried. When he wasn’t there on Tuesday, he was downright concerned. He was in the breakroom when Leia walked in, talking to another colleague of theirs.

“Good morning, Din,” Leia said, smiling at him. “How are you today?”

“I’m good. Uh, how is Luke doing? He hasn’t been at work this week.” Din glanced up at her, and noticed a quick look of sadness on her face before she smiled.

“He’s ok; just not feeling well. I was going to go check on him tonight, actually.”

“Can you tell him I hope he feels better?”

“I will. It was nice to see you.”

“You, too.”

The next day, Din was relieved that Luke was back. He'd made up his mind that he was going to talk to him; explain the date comment and see if he could convince Luke to hear him out. Unfortunately, Luke wasn’t listening. When he got back to his office, he sighed.

His phone rang, and he answered it not looking to see who it was. “ Djarin ,” he said, gruffly.

“What the hell is wrong with you?”

Din sighed. “Nothing, Bo-Katan. I’m fine.”

“Boba called me; told me what happened on Saturday. I'm betting you aren’t fine.”

Din leaned back in his chair. “Is everyone invested in this non-relationship? Why the hell did Boba, of all people, call you?”

“We’re friends, you ass. He called because he’s worried about you. He said that you looked really depressed after this guy left on Saturday.”

Din sighed again. His friends were starting to become a nuisance. “It’s fine. I’m fine.”

“You don’t sound fine. What the hell happened?”

“I thought it was a date; that he had finally accepted an invitation. I was wrong.” Din ran his hands through his hair, catching glances of Luke in his office. He stood up and closed his door, making sure that no one could overhear. “I love him, Bo-Katan. And I don’t know how to tell him.”

“Just tell him. There's no preamble that you have to mess with here. Just sit the jackass down and tell him.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“Maybe it should be.”

He'd gone home that night and spent hours on his homemade chicken soup; he had wanted to give Luke something to let him know that he’d been worried. He couldn’t use his words, so he made him the soup. He and  Grogu had eaten what was left over, and he found that he actually felt better. Maybe the gesture will mean something to Luke?

When Bo-Katan showed up at his work on Friday, he shouldn’t have been surprised. She walked in, stood next to his desk and glared at him almost immediately.

“Have you fixed this yet?”

“I-”

“I’ll take that as a no.”

“Look, I know you mean well and everything, but I wish all of you would just leave it the hell alone! I can manage my own life!”

“Clearly, you can’t! Look at you! Have you lost weight? What the fuck are you letting this guy do to you?”

Din glared at Bo-Katan. “You are lucky we are friends. I swear to god...let me figure this out on my own!”

“And look how well you are doing on your own! Your son is worried, did you know that? Maybe I should just march over to this guy’s office and tell him what’s going on.” She regarded him with a glare. “But I think it should be you. Do it right now! Get up and just tell him!”

“I said no, dammit. I’m fucking done with this shit! Get out and leave me the hell alone already Bo-Katan.”

“You have no idea what you are doing here, do you? You are miserable and a sad sack of shit. I'm fucking done. So is Cara. All of us, Din. Fucking do something already.”

“There’s nothing to do. I told you, there wasn’t anything there to begin with.”

“Cara, Cobb and Boba all said-”

“And they need to focus on their own lives. Tell them to back the hell off, too.”

And that’s when Luke came in, and everything got even worse. Bo-Katan was bitchy, even to Luke, and he had no idea what to do to remedy the situation. Luke stood up to her, which made him smile. Not many people stood up to Bo-Katan. It wasn’t until after she left that Din finally had an opportunity.

“Dinner? At my house tonight?” Din asked quickly, before he could lose his nerve.

Luke stared at him for a minute before smiling. “Yeah. That sounds nice.”

~~

Din was a nervous wreck the whole drive home. Everything he wanted to say was swirling inside his head and the words were almost losing meaning. He practiced throughout the day of how he would tell Luke, what he would say and how he would say it. Nothing sounded right, but everything was so critical that he had to say it right. He’d tried in the car, but ended up just telling Luke that Grogu was at a friend's house. The rest of the ride home he’d berated himself for losing his nerve.

There was a moment when they were sitting outside where Din almost said what he wanted – needed – to say. But the doorbell rang and broke it up. Going to the door, he saw Bo-Katan's husband, Axe, standing there with Grogu in his arms.

“Sorry, I know you wanted time alone tonight. Grogu didn’t want to stay over without his pajamas and stuffed animals.”

“Oh, right, I'm sorry. I told Bo-Katan that I'd get those for you. Come in.”  Grogu leaned over and held his arms out, and Din took him immediately. “I’m sorry, buddy. I meant to get that stuff to you.”  Grogu settled in his arms, and Din kissed his head. 

“Again, I’m sorry. I should have just texted you. He was  insistent .”

“It’s fine; it’s just...Luke is here.”

Axe’s eyebrows came up. “Really? That’s great, man! I’m happy for you.”

Din smiled at him. “Thanks; I'm hoping it will be a good night.”

“Well, let’s get  Grogu his things so we can get out of your hair then. Now I'm even more sorry that we came over.”

“It’s no trouble,” Din said, seeing Luke walk inside. He proceeded to set  Grogu down, telling him to get his things, before he introduced Luke to Axe. Axe was inherently a shy man, and didn’t say much. Bo-Katan usually spoke for him most of the time. Axe was quiet with Luke, but Din could see a slight smirk on his face.

Once  Grogu was back, and Din had given him a hug before passing him over to Axe, Axe leaned in and whispered, “Good luck tonight. I’ll make sure Bo-Katan stays far away from your place.”

Din raised his eyes to his friend’s, chuckling. “Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, I know everyone wanted to know what happened next after the kiss. It's coming tomorrow, I promise! I wanted to give everyone a dive into what Din's been dealing with before we start the conclusion of the story. I hope you all found this interesting, seeing the scenes from a different point of view.
> 
> All the thanks in the world to my beta, my BBBB, zombified419. Thank you for giving me this prompt and for being my friend and beta. You should all read her story Naberrie Blooms, for an AU dinluke romance. It's so amazing.
> 
> See you all tomorrow, for the next steps after the kiss!


	7. The Oblivious Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke stood up, trying to ignore how wide Din’s eyes were, and the look of panic on his face. 
> 
> “Luke, just stop, please.” Din ran a hand through his hair. 
> 
> “It’s fine, look, I’m just going home, ok?” Din grabbed Luke by the arms and pushed him against the loveseat. “Din! What in-” 
> 
> Din stopped Luke by pressing their lips together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's gift speaks of true friendship that allows my lovely beta, zombified419, to break the obvious things to me without preamble or issue. Sometimes I miss the important things in life, and she is always there to make sure I don't miss out entirely. "have you seen...", "did you know..." and best of all, "I know you'll love..."
> 
> Thank you for keeping me informed and pulling me out of my own head, ready for the next adventure. Now, enjoy this adventure :)
> 
> (also known as, I hope everyone enjoys...what we've all been waiting for, and the reason for the fic's rating)

_Luke stood up, trying to ignore how wide Din’s eyes were, and the look of panic on his face._

_“Luke, just stop, please.” Din ran a hand through his hair._

_“It’s fine, look, I’m just going home, ok?” Din grabbed Luke by the arms and pushed him against the loveseat. “Din! What in-”_

_Din stopped Luke by pressing their lips together._

Luke’s hands went up to Din’s shoulders, sliding around to hold him tightly. Din’s lips kept moving, kissing Luke’s top then bottom lips. Luke moaned, tugging Din closer. Din’s arms wound around Luke’s body, pulling him up off the couch arm. Gently, Din started tugging Luke down the hallway, lips still fused together. They reached a closed door, which Din opened, pulling Luke inside. 

Once the door was closed and locked, they finally separated. Din leaned against the door staring at Luke. Dark brown eyes met bright blue – both wide with shock. Luke took a moment to stare back, noting the slight flush of Din’s cheeks and his red lips that were parted slightly. Luke stepped closer to Din, his body flush against him. Din’s arms came up to Luke’s sides, as Luke brought his hand up to Din’s face. 

“Is this real?” Luke whispered, staring into Din’s eyes. 

Din leaned his head to the side, kissing Luke’s hand. “I’ve been trying to tell you for almost two years.” 

Luke huffed a laugh, but he found that he didn’t know how to respond. Instead, he brought his mouth back to Din’s, kissing him as hard as he could while pressing him against the door. Din’s arms came around Luke, pushing until Luke took a step back. Din kept pushing until Luke’s legs came in contact with the bed behind him. 

Sinking down, Luke smirked up at Din, who smiled before kneeling and starting to unbutton Luke’s shirt. Din pushed up on his knees to kiss Luke again; Luke’s hands were shaky as he brought them up to Din’s shirt, unbuttoning it. Once their shirts were off, they had to disconnect to take off their undershirts. Then Din stood up and pushed Luke onto the bed, settling on top of him. Luke gasped in Din’s mouth at the feel of Din’s bare chest on his. 

Scooting back on the bed, Luke kept his mouth on Din’s, pulling him with him. Once he was in the center of the bed, his hands started rubbing down Din’s back. Din’s hand came up to Luke’s face, just as he opened his mouth, deepening the kiss. Their tongues swirled together as Din’s hand slid down Luke’s neck, over his chest and stopping on his side. Curling his hand under Luke, Din pushed him up from the bed slightly. 

“Wait,” Luke whispered, out of breath. Din pulled back; his own breathing was ragged. Din’s head hit Luke’s shoulder, breathing heavily for a moment. 

“I’m sorry.” Din pushed off of Luke, turning to sit on the bed. “I didn’t mean to push you.” 

Luke sat up, kissing Din’s back, his arms winding around him. “No, Din. You didn’t push me. I just thought we should talk first...I mean, we should talk.” 

Din grabbed Luke’s hand, holding it tight to his chest. “I’m not so good at talking; otherwise, I would have made my feelings clear to you before now.” 

Luke huffed a laugh, laying his head on Din’s back. “I guess I’m not either then. We can try now, though, right? Now that we know there’s at least...attraction...?” 

Din shifted, and Luke leaned back, giving Din the room to turn around. “Attraction? Is that what we are calling this?” 

Luke ducked his head. “I don’t want to presume anything. I’d rather hear for myself.” 

Din scooted closer to Luke. He tugged on Luke’s legs, pulling him closer. Luke grinned, letting himself be drug closer, his hands settling on Din’s arms. “Luke, I may stumble over my words. But I want you to know. Everything.” 

“And I want to tell you, too. Who goes first?” Luke smiled at him. 

“I’ll go, if that’s ok?” Luke nodded, scooting a little closer. “When I first saw you, I thought you may be the most handsome man I'd ever seen.” 

Luke smiled, his cheeks getting red. “I thought the same thing.” 

Din grinned, leaning in to kiss Luke. “I thought I was going first?” 

“Sorry,” Luke murmured, kissing him again. 

Din pulled back, resting his forehead on Luke’s. “I fell in love with you,” he whispered, holding Luke as tight as he could. “And I didn’t know how to tell you.” 

Luke released a stuttered breath. “Din,” he breathed, shifting so he was on Din’s lap, one leg on either side of him. Luke’s arms came around his shoulders as Din’s came around Luke’s back. “I fell in love with you, too.” 

“I wish I could have told you sooner.” Din nuzzled into Luke’s neck, kissing it softly. “I tried to ask you out so many times, but I didn’t ask right. I don’t think you ever knew that’s what I was doing.” 

Luke pulled back, shock on his face. “When?” 

“Do you remember a year ago when I asked if you wanted to come with us to the museum? Or even a couple weeks ago when I asked you to go to dinner with me and my friend Cara? When I asked you to the zoo?” 

Luke opened his mouth a couple times. “You were asking me out?” Din nodded. “Oh, god!” Luke got up off the bed, pacing in the bedroom. Din moved to the side of the bed, his feet resting on the ground, warily watching Luke. “I thought you were dating Cara! I had no idea! The museum...oh, no!” Luke turned around, staring at Din. “What Boba said! No wonder you got so quiet after what I said!” 

“Luke-” 

“I didn’t know, Din. I swear!” Luke walked over to him, collapsing to his knees. “I am so sorry!” 

Din brought his hand to Luke’s flushed face. “I told you I wasn’t good with my words. There’s nothing to be sorry for.” 

“But if I had been aware enough-” 

“No, Luke.” Din pulled Luke up to sit next to him on the bed. “We can’t do that. If we go down that road then we’ll waste all our time together wondering and wishing. Can't we address how we both feel now? Can't we just...I love you, Luke. I don’t want to be without you anymore.” 

Luke released a breath that he didn’t know he’d been holding. “I feel like an idiot.” 

Din motioned with his head. “Come and lay down with me.” 

Luke was nodding when they heard the doorbell ring. His eyes shot up to Din’s. “Our food.” 

“Right. I forgot I'd ordered it. I'll go grab it and we can eat in here?” 

“I mean, it’s your room. If you are ok with eating in here?” 

Din smirked at him, before walking to the door. Luke heard him open the front door and talk to the delivery person for a few minutes, before coming back in the room. He set the pizza down on the table next to the door, along with a bag that looked like it had plates in it. 

“Are you hungry?” Din asked, his eyes on Luke. 

Luke shifted to the center of the bed and held his arms out to Din. Din smiled at him, turning to lock the door again before walking over and joining him on the bed. “Later, if that’s ok? I want to keep talking.” 

Din laid down, his head on Luke’s shoulder. Luke wound one arm around Din, the other grabbing Din’s hand on his chest. “Later is good,” Din said, kissing Luke’s chest. 

For a moment neither of them spoke; they just basked in the closeness. “I can’t believe we are here,” Luke whispered, kissing Din’s head. “I’ve dreamed about this.” 

“Have you?” 

“More times than I care to admit.” 

Din’s hand disconnected from Luke’s and he started making lazy circles on Luke’s chest. “I feel like I've wanted this almost since the first time I met you.” Din pushed up onto his elbow, resting his head against his hand. He stared into Luke’s eyes, bringing his hand to Luke’s cheek. “You are an amazing man; do you know that?” 

Luke flushed again, covering Din’s hand with his own. “I always thought the same about you.” 

Din smiled and brought his head down to Luke’s, kissing him softly. “I love you,” he whispered into Luke’s mouth. 

“I love you, too,” Luke whispered back. 

Din leaned forward, pressing his body into Luke’s and kissing him harder. Din’s hand made it’s way down Luke’s body, and Luke shivered from the contact. “I know we should talk,” he said, out of breath as he cascaded his lips down to Luke’s neck, sucking lightly. 

“Talking is overrated,” Luke huffed, his hands pulling Din on top of him. 

“Are you sure?” The question was loaded, and Luke knew it. Din wasn’t just asking about not talking; he was asking him if he was sure about everything. 

“I’m sure about you. I've been sure for a long time.” 

Din settled on top of Luke, bringing his mouth back to Luke’s. Pushing against him slightly, Luke moaned as their erections ground together. Din’s hand kept moving, caressing down Luke’s side, knuckles grazing his stomach. Luke’s breath hitched again as Din shifted off of him, his hand sliding slowly to the button on Luke’s pants. Leaning up, Din questioned Luke with his eyes. Luke smiled and nodded, and Din’s hand immediately went to open the button, sliding the zipper down. Din kept eye contact with Luke as he roughly pushed Luke’s pants down. 

Luke brought his hand to Din’s pants, doing the same thing. They disconnected, by tacit agreement, and took their pants off the rest of the way. Din’s mouth met his in a heated kiss and Luke groaned. Feeling Din on top of him, naked and hard, was almost overwhelming. 

“I want you,” Din said, kissing Luke’s neck before nipping at his shoulder and collar bone. 

“Take me, then.” 

Din smiled against Luke’s skin, raising his eyes to Luke’s. “What do you want?” 

Luke brought his hand to Din’s face. “I want you. In every way I can have you.” 

“And I want you in every way, too.” Din smiled at Luke, bringing his lips back to Luke’s. The kiss seared into Luke, causing warmth to pool in his stomach. Luke arched his hips forward as Din wrapped his arm under Luke’s back. Din pressed Luke’s body against his as his mouth continued to move on Luke’s. Luke marveled at Din’s sheer strength as his arms flexed, bringing Luke in closer. 

Luke moaned, his hands settling on Din’s back, pulling him even closer. Din’s tongue entered Luke’s mouth, angling his head to deepen the kiss. The intensity was quickly overwhelming Luke and he felt his cock harden even more. It was pressed between them, and he felt Din’s hardness pushing into his hip; feeling that they were finally here, that it was finally happening, made him choke up for a moment. 

Din pulled back from Luke, feeling the wetness on his cheeks. “Luke?” 

“I’m sorry,” Luke said, trembling a little, closing his eyes. 

“What’s wrong? Am I hurting you?” 

Luke shook his head, keeping his eyes closed. “No, not at all. I'm feeling...” 

“Luke, look at me.” Din placed both hands on Luke’s cheeks. Luke tentatively opened his eyes, only to have his tears escape. Din wiped the tears with his thumbs. “Talk to me.” 

“Overwhelmed,” Luke stated simply, a small smile forming on his face. “I am feeling overwhelmed. I can’t believe how good you feel.” 

Din smiled. “Good tears?” 

“Yes.” Luke pushed forward and kissed Din again. “Very good.” 

“Let me make you feel even better, love.” Din’s eyes bore into Luke’s, who nodded. Din’s lips came back to Luke’s briefly, before they started to trail down Luke’s neck. Din nipped at Luke’s collarbone, his tongue escaping to trace his way down Luke’s chest. Scooting down on the bed, Din kept his lips and tongue moving around on Luke’s body. 

Luke watched his progress, his heart racing. Din’s lips kissed Luke’s cock softly, before his tongue snaked out, circling the head. Luke desperately wanted to close his eyes and relish the feeling of Din’s mouth on him, but the pull of watching him was too much. Luke licked his lips, watching Din’s eyes meet his as he continued to move up and down on Luke’s cock. 

Too soon, Din’s mouth let Luke’s cock go as he slid back up his body. He kissed and sucked the skin, licking now and then. Luke was panting by the time Din’s mouth met his again. “I have something else in mind; but next time I want to taste you more,” Din whispered, kissing Luke softly. 

Din kissed him again, before getting up. Luke moaned at the loss of contact, as Din reached into the bedside drawer next to them. He pulled out two condoms and an unopened bottle of lube. Luke swallowed thickly as he glanced at it, before his eyes met Din’s again. 

“We don’t have to...” Din said, seeing the nervousness in Luke’s eyes. 

“No, I want to. It's just...it’s been a long time.” 

Din leaned back over Luke, kissing him softly. “For me, too.” He kissed him gently, running his tongue along Luke’s lips. “We’ll go slow. Together.” 

Nodding, Luke sank into the kiss, pushing his tongue into Din’s mouth. He heard Din opening the bottle of lube, but didn’t think more beyond that. He focused on the sensation of Din’s mouth on his until he felt Din’s slicked fingers sliding around his rim before pushing in. 

“Oh god,” Luke said, squeezing his eyes shut and throwing his head back. Din’s mouth continued to attack Luke’s neck and shoulders, biting softly. Din’s finger moved in and out as Luke relaxed. Then, Din put another finger inside him, moving his fingers around, loosening him even more. He continued for a few moments before putting a third finger in Luke. Luke began panting, his eyes still closed. 

Din’s mouth fused onto a sensitive spot behind Luke’s ear, causing Luke to moan and clutch Din’s hair tightly. As Din’s fingers continued to move within Luke, Luke’s hips started moving with them increasing the speed. Din saw that Luke’s cock was leaking precome already, and he was desperate to taste it, but he was not willing to move away from the softness of Luke’s neck. 

“Are you ready?” Din asked quietly, his breath ghosting over Luke’s neck. Luke shivered, but nodded. Din sat up, taking his fingers out of Luke. Luke heard the tear of a condom wrapper a few moments before he felt something swirl around him. Luke’s eyes came wide open as Din pushed inside him slowly. 

Din fell to the bed, taking Luke’s mouth in his as he surged forward in a hurried push. Luke’s breath hitched as he sunk inside him, but Din slowed his movements then, moving into Luke carefully. They continued to kiss as Din sheathed himself fully inside Luke. 

“You feel just as amazing as I thought you would,” Din said, leaning back to look at Luke. Luke’s hands rubbed up Din’s sides, causing goosebumps to form. 

“This is better than I thought, too. Keep going, please. I just want to feel you.” Din smiled, kissing Luke lightly as he started to move within him. He thrust in slowly, keeping his mouth fused with Luke’s. Luke wound his legs around Din and he continued to push in and out. 

“I’m not going to last,” Din whispered into Luke’s mouth. 

“Come inside me. I want to feel you lose control on top of me.” 

Din groaned, his head falling to Luke’s shoulder. His thrusts started in earnest, pushing harder and harder into Luke until they were both sweating and moaning. Din gasped, surging into Luke, his movements slowing. 

Luke rubbed along Din’s back, letting him catch his breath. Din picked up his head and brought his lips to Luke’s again, kissing softly for a few minutes. “Your turn?” 

Luke grinned as Din pulled back. “How?” 

Din smirked. “Same position?” 

Nodding, Luke pushed up a little as Din slid off him. Luke started getting the condom on as Din disposed of his. Then, Din came back to the bed and laid down. Luke leaned over him, his fingers coated, and started to push one finger inside Din. Luke’s lips came down hard on Din’s as his leg came over to settle in-between Din’s. Luke followed the same pattern that Din had, until Din was ready. 

Luke’s fingers rubbed inside Din, who had closed his eyes and thrown his head backward. Luke took up the same spot that Din had occupied on himself, sucking on Din’s neck and shoulders. Luke licked a clean line along Din’s collar bone, nipping at the skin lightly as he started to move his fingers faster. 

“Are you ready for me?” Luke asked, mirroring Din’s earlier question as his clean hand came up to cup Din’s face. 

“I’ve been ready for years.” 

Luke smirked and leaned back to line himself up with Din. Pushing slowly until he was fully inside, Luke let out a shuddering breath. “Fuck,” he gasped, squeezing his eyes closed. 

“Luke, look at me.” 

Luke’s eyes opened, meeting Din’s. 

“I love you; and I have you. It's ok.” 

Nodding, Luke felt tears start to burn behind his eyes again. “I love you,” Luke gasped, his forehead resting against Din’s. He started moving then, but he had to close his eyes again. The feeling of actually being inside the man he loved was almost too much. “It-it’s...oh god...” 

“I know; overwhelming,” Din agreed, kissing Luke’s forehead. Din’s knees were up and he started moving his hips in order to help Luke with his uneven thrusts. Luke was barely holding it together as he continued to push in and out of Din, clutching him tightly, his face shoved in Din’s neck. 

“Oh god...Din!” Luke gasped, pushing into Din one final time as he came, hard. Luke lowered his head to Din’s chest and shoulder, resting and panting heavily. 

Din’s arms circled him, holding him to his chest tightly. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t last long,” Luke gasped, his breathing still hard. 

“I didn’t either. I'm sure it will get better.” 

Luke lifted his head, kissing Din softly. “Yeah?” 

“We have lots of time to practice.” 

“All the time in the world now.” Luke smiled, kissing Din softly. “I’m so glad you love me...everything is just perfect now.” 

Luke settled his head back down on Din, the pizza forgotten. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I know everyone has been waiting for this chapter...I hope it was worth the wait! More conversations are coming, the two definitely haven't aired out everything. But the fic is only 10 chapters, remember. Not breaking them up now!
> 
> You'll note that this is the longest chapter so far....because it HAD to be! Definitely a need for more :)
> 
> Thanks as always to my BBBB (beautiful bestest buddy beta) zombified419, for the prompt and helping guide me through the story aspects everyone wanted to see. Please check out her amazing dinluke story Naberrie Blooms. I simply love it.
> 
> More tomorrow on what happens next. Thanks for reading!


	8. The Understanding Child

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's gift speaks of true understanding. My beta, zombified419, and I often joke that we have a shared brain cell, and it certainly feels true. We simply understand each other - when we met, joking about a Marvel movie, our souls did a fist bump. She understands me, as I do her, and it is a true wonder on a daily basis. Thank you for the kind and fun nature of understanding you have toward me.
> 
> Here's a little more with the happy couple. Enjoy!

Luke woke up to kissing on his back and shoulder, a warm arm around him tight. A smile formed on his face as he grabbed Din’s hand with his. “Good morning,” he said, kissing Din’s hand.

“Good morning,” Din said, his mouth on Luke’s neck. “Thank you for staying.”

Luke shifted so that he was facing Din, bringing his body in close. “Someone wore me out. I didn't want to make that someone have to drive me to my car.” Din pushed forward and kissed Luke. “Plus, I get the added benefit of waking up next to you.”

“Are you hungry? We never actually ate last night.”

“Oh! The pizza! We forgot!”

Din chuckled. “I threw it in the fridge last night.”

Luke smiled. “When? I didn’t even hear you leave.”

“You fell asleep pretty fast. I cleaned up a bit, locked the house and crawled back in bed with you.”

“I’m sorry I fell asleep,” Luke said, biting his lip. Din eyed him with a look on his face.

“When was the last time you had a good  night's sleep, Luke?”

Luke’s face got red. “Um...”

“I thought so. Don't apologize for getting some sleep. I don’t want you to be exhausted all the time. You need to rest.”

Luke kissed him again, not sure of what to say. Luke had a suspicion that now that everything was out in the open, and Din felt the  same way about him, that he would be sleeping much better going forward.

“Why haven’t you been sleeping, Luke?” Din asked, pulling back from the kiss. Luke lowered his eyes and Din sensed that he didn’t want to tell him. He put his hand on Luke’s face. “Do you remember what I told you last night?”

“Which part?” Luke replied, not raising his eyes to meet Din’s.

Din put his hand under Luke’s chin, raising it and causing him to look at him. “I love you. Don't hide from me, please? If something is wrong, I need to know.”

“I-I mean, nothing's wrong. Not now. I was, um, well...” Luke’s face reddened again, but he kept his eyes steady. “I was upset, ok? I thought you were dating all these people. I thought I had lost my chance...if there was even a chance to begin with.”

“You weren’t sleeping because of us?” Din’s eyes were wide.

Luke lowered his eyes, breaking contact as shame coursed through him. “Yes,” he said quietly. “I kept seeing you with all these different people, and I thought you were with them. I was trying to figure out what to do or how to talk to you and they all started coming into your life. After the zoo, I was just  devastated . I couldn’t even look myself in the mirror, let alone talk to you. That’s why I was out from work. I wasn’t sick.”

“Luke,” Din said, his voice a mere whisper. Luke sucked in a deep breath and brought his eyes to meet Din’s. “I wish we had said something to each other. Sounds like we were making each other miserable without knowing. But now? Now that we have this? Please don’t doubt me. I've never felt this way about anyone before.”

Luke felt tears starting to form in his eyes. “I haven’t either. And I'm sorry; I should have asked who all of those people were...”

“They are my friends, Luke. Just friends.”

“I should have asked.”

“Yes.” Din’s eyes held  steady with Luke’s.

“I’m so sorry-”

Din pushed forward and kissed Luke, pressing him into the bed. Din settled on top of Luke, his hands running down the length of his body. “No more apologies,” he said, his mouth working on Luke’s neck. Luke moaned and hugged Din tighter to him.

Din brought his mouth back up to Luke’s, pushing their groins together in a rushed, hurried motion. They both moaned at the contact. 

“I want you again,” Din breathed, sucking Luke’s bottom lip into his mouth. “Are you too sore?”

“No,” Luke moaned, fingers curling into Din’s skin. “Please, take me again.” He opened his eyes and looked into Din’s. “Take me forever.”

Din brought his hand up to Luke’s face. “I just might do that.”

Reaching to the side, Din fished out another condom and the bottle of lube he’d stashed in there the night before. He pulled back to get the condom on before putting lube on his hand. Luke brought his legs up to Din’s shoulders, and Din pushed two fingers into Luke roughly. Delicious pain enveloped Luke for a split second,  causing him to close his eyes. After a moment, all trace of the pain was gone, replaced by need and pleasure.

Din pushed his fingers in and out of Luke roughly, his mouth sucking and kissing on Luke’s chest. Luke’s legs wound around Din’s body, and started pushing against his hand. When Luke moaned loudly, Din sat back to look up at him.

Din pulled his hand out, coating it with more lube that he rubbed on the condom. Pushing forward, he lined himself up with Luke and pushed in. He was more careful this time, sliding in slowly to ensure he didn’t hurt Luke. His breath caught at the feeling of being inside him again and he collapsed on top of Luke, pushing his tongue into his mouth. He surged forward, burying himself within Luke before he paused so that Luke could get used to him inside.

Luke’s eyes were closed and he was panting heavily. “Did I hurt you?” Din whispered, his hand on Luke’s cheek again.

“No,” he breathed, his voice tight. “Just...give me a minute.”

“I’m sorry, Luke. My need for you-”

Luke cut him off by bringing his lips to Din’s. “No more apologies,” he reminded, his lips curving into a smile. Din smiled back before moving slowly within him.

“I know at some point you’ll need to go home,” Din whispered, still moving slowly. “But for right now I just need to feel you. Feel that this is real.”

“That it’s not just a dream,” Luke agreed, pushing his hips up to meet Din’s. Din moaned and increased his speed. “I don’t want to go home.”

“I don’t ever want to be without you,” Din said into Luke’s neck, biting the skin lightly.

“Never.”

“I love you, Luke.” Din continued to push inside Luke, increasing his speed again and causing Luke’s breath to catch in his throat.

“I love you, Din.” Luke closed his eyes at the sensations as Din continued to move. Din reached up and grabbed one of Luke’s knees in the crook of his elbow. That changed the angle that he hit inside Luke, and Luke arched his back, his head hitting the pillow.

“I want you to be mine forever,” Din whispered, kissing Luke’s chest.

“Yes,” Luke managed,  elongating the word.

“Fuck!” Din surged within Luke, pushing in roughly, his head resting on Luke’s chest. Luke rode the waves of Din’s orgasm, his hands in Din’s hair.

Luke continued to stroke Din’s hair as his breath calmed. He was sore, but these moments with Din were worth any pain later. Feeling him like this was more powerful than he could have imagined, and he would never stop Din from just taking him whenever he wanted. The pull toward the man above him was too strong to ignore.

Din raised his head, dropping Luke’s knee and pushing up to kiss Luke softly. “Shower?”

Luke smiled and nodded. Din pulled out and disposed of the condom, before he turned around and grabbed another one. He held it out to Luke.

“Your turn,” he said just like he had the night before; Din smirked at Luke.

Luke got out of bed carefully, grabbing the condom before standing up and pushing his lips against Din’s. His hand came to Din’s ass, grabbing it and pulling the man closer. “Then let’s go.”

~~

Luke was getting dressed in some of Din’s clothing – not wanting to wear his business suit on a Saturday – when he heard the doorbell ring. Din had been making breakfast, and Luke paused. He wasn’t sure if he needed to stay where he was...he didn’t want to cause problems with Din’s friends.

Not sure what to do, he waited until he heard the door shut again before walking into the kitchen area. Din was holding  Grogu and leaning over the stove.  Grogu’s eyes shot to Luke immediately as he stepped in the room.

“Hi, Luke,” came the small voice. Din’s head popped up and turned to look at him, smiling wide.

“Hey, kiddo. Great to see you again.” Luke smiled at them, still unsure of himself.

“You  joinin ’ us for breakfast?”  Grogu asked, leaning his head on Din’s shoulder.

“Yeah, if that’s ok.” The boy silently nodded before turning his head to look at the food Din was preparing.

“Hey, buddy, I need to put you down before the food burns, ok? Why don’t you show Luke your room?”

“Ok, Daddy.” Din set  Grogu down before glancing up at Luke. He smiled and Luke smiled back, nerves tingling down his back. Grogu walked over to Luke and grabbed his hand, pulling him down the hallway. They got to a door past Din’s room, and Grogu opened it up. “This is my room.”

Luke glanced around at the messy room, noting several things at once. The room had toys all over the floor and had a very well lived in feel to it. There were a few pictures on the wall of people Luke didn’t recognize, and he had a twin bed pushed up against the wall. The blanket had airplanes on it, as well as a large mound of stuffed animals.

“This is really cool! You like airplanes, too?”  Grogu’s eyes got wide and he nodded. “Have you ever been on one?”

“No, but Daddy says someday he’ll take me somewhere on an airplane! Have you been on one?”  Grogu turned around and plopped on the bed, looking up at Luke.

“I have. Just a couple years ago I went on vacation with my parents and we got to ride in a plane.” Luke walked over to the bed, sitting next to Grogu.

“That is so neat! I  wanna go on one.”

“I’m sure your Daddy will take you.” Luke smiled, almost to himself. Luke glanced up at the pictures on the wall. “Who are they?”

Grogu glanced up. “My first Mommy and Daddy. Daddy keeps them on the wall next to me to protect me. He says they are watching over me from heaven.”

Luke’s eyes filled with tears, as he looked at the smiling faces in the picture. “I’m sure that they are. I’m glad you have your daddy; he loves you very much.”

“Of course, he does;  he’s my daddy.”  Grogu smiled, looking up at Luke. “He loves you, too. He told me.”

“He-I, what?” Luke’s face flushed as he stammered over his words.

“Daddy said that he loved you; like Bo-Katan loves Axe. He said that we were going to spend more time with you soon. Does that mean you are staying here now?”  Grogu’s eyes were still big, but they didn’t seem scared or upset. Luke glanced at the door, where Din was leaning against the entryway, and licked his lips.

“I don’t know, kiddo. I guess that’s up to your Dad. We can talk about that later, though.” Luke smiled at Din. “Is breakfast ready?”

“Yeah; you guys hungry?”

Luke glanced at Grogu, smiling. “I’m hungry, but I don’t think he is.”

“I’m hungry!”  Grogu started to get up from the bed, but Luke’s arms stopped him. He whirled him around in the air and brought him to his shoulders.  Grogu howled in laughter, wiggling around on Luke’s shoulder. “I’m hungry! I wanna eat! Luke!”

“Come on kid, let’s get you some food.” He walked up to Din, who was softly chuckling, and kissed him lightly. “I love you, too,” he whispered, before pushing past him, tickling  Grogu along the way. The boy’s laughter was loud through the house, and it was the best thing Din had ever heard.

After breakfast,  Grogu wanted to play before it got too hot in the afternoon. The two of them settled outside as Grogu started kicking around his soccer ball on the large grassy area. Luke sat down on the same seat that he had occupied before, Din sitting next to him. Luke smiled wide as Din grasped his hand, squeezing it tightly.

“What’s the smile for?” Din asked, glancing at Luke. “Not that I’m complaining.”

“Just something I was thinking last night,” Luke mused, shifting closer to Din so he could rest his head on Din’s shoulder. “I was thinking, before everything came out, how amazing it would be to just sit outside with you holding your hand like this. Watching  Grogu play and just feeling content.”

Din chuckled, kissing Luke’s head softly, before settling his head against Luke’s. “Are you content, Luke? Is this what you wanted?”

Luke sat up, looking into Din’s eyes. “It’s everything I've ever wanted.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter wasn't originally part of the plan I had, but I found that I really wanted to add it. It was important to me for them to have a moment with Grogu - he lives in the house, too, and I wanted the dynamic. I hope that you all enjoyed!
> 
> I want to thank everyone for reading my little gift fic. It makes my heart happy that so many of you are reading and commenting! Only two more chapters to go!
> 
> And to zombified419, no thanks are enough for the help you've given me. You are the most beautiful, bestest buddy beta ever!
> 
> See you all tomorrow!


	9. The Gratified Parents

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's gift is that of found family. Zombified419 is my soul sister, my Force twin, my partner in crime (or fan fiction). For all of the gifts I've mentioned in this fic, this is what it boils down to: found family. I'm thankful that I have her in my life, because it's better as a result.
> 
> In the gift of family, let's dive into Luke's. Enjoy your gift, zombified419!

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this,” Din said as he pulled into the massive driveway. 

Luke snickered. “My mother was relentless. She made me promise to come tonight; I've missed the last few dinners.” Luke shifted to look at Din, his voice low so Grogu couldn’t hear him. “You were the one that said you didn’t want me to leave.” 

“No, I said I didn’t want to take you home. There’s a difference.” Din smirked at Luke, who covered his mouth to avoid laughing. “I’ve only met them a handful of times, Luke. And now, out of nowhere, I'm showing up as your...what? Your boyfriend?” 

“Is that what you are?” Luke asked, placing a hand on Din’s leg. 

“Is that what you want me to be?” 

“I was under the impression that you were sort of...more than that.” 

Din came to a stop outside the giant house, glancing back at Grogu, before studying the mansion in front of them. Grogu’s big eyes had been staring outside, but they shifted to look at his father. “I’ll be whatever you want me to be. As long as I get to keep you.” 

Luke squeezed Din’s leg. “Boyfriend is good for now. But I want to find a different label for later.” 

“Why have any labels? I love you; you love me. Isn't that enough?” Din smiled, leaning his head against the headrest on the seat, head rolled to the side to look at Luke. 

“More than enough.” Luke smiled, his heart filling with love again. 

“Can we go inside? I wanna see inside,” Grogu said, leaning forward in his seat. 

Luke smiled at Grogu. “Absolutely. Let’s go.” 

They all got out of the car, Din a little slower. Luke glanced over at him, holding out his hand. Din reached over and took it, lacing their fingers together. “I don’t want to hide from them.” 

“I understand. I'm just nervous; they are my bosses, Luke.” Din shuffled his feet a little as Luke urged him forward. Grogu walked up to take Din’s other hand; he glanced down at his son and smiled. 

“Don’t be nervous. I love you, so I know they will, too.” 

Din sighed, but let Luke pull him toward the door. Luke opened it, without knocking, and said, “Mom? Dad?” 

“Luke! Oh, honey, I’m so glad you are here.” Padmé Skywalker walked out of the side room. Luke let go of Din’s hand as his mother walked up and put her arms around him. Luke hugged her back before stepping back toward Din again, his arm coming around him. 

“Mother, you know Din Djarin in Security?” 

“Yes, of course. Din, welcome. We didn’t know Luke was bringing anyone.” Her eyes flitted to Luke. “But we are happy to have you. Please make yourself at home.” 

“Thank you, Mrs. Skywalker,” Din said, his voice quiet. 

“Padmé, please. And who’s this?” Padmé peered around Din to see Grogu hovering behind his legs. 

“This is my son, Grogu. Grogu, please say hello to Luke’s mother.” Din grabbed Grogu and pulled him out from behind his legs. Grogu’s eyes were flitting all over the giant house. 

“Hi,” he said, quietly. 

Luke crouched down. “Grogu, do you want to see the backyard? There’s a giant pool!” 

“A pool? Yeah!” Grogu lifted his arms to Luke, who picked him up, smiling. 

“Mother, I assume everyone is out back?” Luke settled Grogu against his hip, smiling at her. She smiled back, her eyes not missing how close Grogu was to Luke. 

“Yes, come on. Dinner will be served soon.” Padmé turned to lead them to the backyard. 

Din glanced at Luke, who smiled at him. “This place is massive, Luke,” he whispered. 

Luke shrugged. “Mom and Dad like their houses big. Come on, the backyard is great.” 

Din sighed again but followed as they walked outside. The backyard _was_ great, just as Luke described. There was a large patio area with a covered veranda that had a large table and chairs under it. Past the veranda was the pool that Luke had promised. There were a dozen pool chairs surrounding it, but the real sight was behind it. The grass spanned out for what seemed like miles, with trees lining the edge of the expanse. A large rocky hill was to the left of the pool, with the water cascading down into a jacuzzi. Din was shocked and couldn’t take his eyes off the entire area. 

“Din! So glad you are here!” Din’s head turned to see Leia walking toward him. She held out her hand and he shook it, smiling weakly at her. 

“Hello, Leia. How are you?” 

“I’m great now that you guys are here. You come with Luke?” She smiled and Din knew immediately that she was onto them. Leia glanced over at Luke, who was standing next to the pool still holding Grogu. Din smiled at seeing their easy friendship forming; Grogu’s arm was laying on Luke’s shoulders as Luke pointed out several things in the backyard. 

“Yeah, we came together.” 

“I take it that dinner on Friday went well?” she said, smirking at him. 

“Luke tell you about that?” 

She rolled her eyes. “Cryptically, yeah.” 

“What does that mean?” 

“Hello, Din! Welcome. I didn’t realize you were coming today.” Din was getting dizzy with all these people. He shifted his eyes to Anakin Skywalker, the CEO of the company he worked for. He was walking over to them, his hand out. Din shook it, looking star-struck. 

“Hello, Mr. Skywalker. How are you today?” Din glanced toward the door that led back into the house and wondered if he could make it to his car with no one noticing. 

“Anakin, please. I’m good. Did you come with Luke?” 

Din sighed again. “Yes, I came with Luke.” 

Anakin’s smile grew and he turned until he was looking at Luke. Din had the impression that Luke was in for it at some point, but, well, it was his own fault. “Interesting,” Anakin said. He turned back to Din. “Do you want to sit down?” 

“Sure, that sounds great.” Din followed them both back to the table, getting even more uncomfortable by the minute. If he were just meeting his boyfriend’s parents for the first time, it would be awkward. The fact that they were the owners of the company he worked for made this even worse. 

Din sat down and he realized every other person at the table was staring at him. He sighed again, for what felt like the hundredth time. “Excuse me for a moment,” he said before standing and walking over to where Luke was showing Grogu the jacuzzi. 

“Luke?” he said in a quiet tone. “Your entire family is just staring at me. This was your idea, and I would feel better if you came and sat down.” 

Luke glanced up at Din, smiling. “Oh, I'm sorry! Grogu and I got lost a little, didn’t we? I’m coming.” 

Din stopped Luke before he got any further; Din’s back to Luke’s family. “Before we go over there, and we are both fed to the wolves, just remember that I love you.” 

Luke smiled up at Din; a pure, happy look. “I love you, too! But I promise, they aren’t that bad.” 

“Just wait. I have a feeling that once you sit the questioning will begin.” Din smiled wryly and Luke laughed. 

“I have no doubt.” 

They made their way over to the table, sitting down with Grogu on Luke’s left, and Din to his right. Everyone stared at the two of them and Luke sighed, mirroring Din’s actions from earlier. 

“Well, I guess everyone has questions?” He glanced around at the group, smirking. 

“How long have you two been together?” Anakin asked, smiling at them both. 

“We-” Luke glanced at Din, who could see he wasn’t sure how to answer. 

“We just got together this weekend, actually,” Din answered for him. 

“Fucking finally,” Leia said, in a hushed whisper. 

“Leia!” Luke glared at her as Din chuckled. “There are children here.” 

“What was it that I was going to remind you of?” Leia asked, a twinkle in her eye as she ignored Luke’s statement. “I guess you two finally talked, huh? Seems like everything is fixed now, yes, Luke?” Luke leveled a glare at her, and Din glanced between the two of them. 

“I think it’s wonderful, honey. We’ve been waiting for you to find someone,” Padmé said, leaning forward a little. “You two look so great together.” 

Luke blushed, glancing down at his plate. “Thanks, Mom.” 

“Well, I’m glad. Maybe I can stop hearing about it now,” Han said with a chuckle. He looked up at Din. “Han Solo; Leia’s husband. Nice to meet you, Din.” 

Din held out his hand, half standing from the table. Han shook it and Din sat back down. “Nice to meet you.” 

“And this is Ben, our son.” Leia placed her hand on a small boy’s back. His dark eyes stared up at Din, before glancing at Grogu. “Your son looks to be about Ben’s age. He’s seven.” 

“He’s five,” Din explained. “This is Grogu, my son. I adopted him a little over two years ago.” 

“Grogu? Well, it’s going to be a few minutes before we eat. Do you want to go play with Ben? There’s a play yard on the side of the house.” Leia looked down at Grogu, a smile on her face. 

Grogu glanced up at Luke, who nodded, before he looked at his dad. Din nodded also, and Grogu broke out into a huge grin. Ben stood up. “Come on, I’ll show you. There's a really big slide! Gramma and Grampa put it up for me about a year ago.” 

As the boys ran off, Din felt the staring continue. He glanced around the table, seeing that all eyes were still on them. 

“How did this happen? I didn’t even know you were dating!” Padmé explained as soon as the boys were out of range. “You never tell me anything, Luke!” 

“I would have liked to know that you were dating also, son. You know we just want you happy.” Anakin leaned forward. “You don’t have to hide a relationship from us.” 

Luke shook his head. “I wasn’t - we weren’t, I promise. What Din said is true, we just got together this weekend. I thought I'd bring him over as a way of telling everyone.” 

Leia glanced between the two of them. “I’m just glad you finally talked.” 

Din chuckled nervously. He knew that Leia could see more than the others could. “Yeah, we talked.” 

Luke blushed again and Leia’s eyes narrowed; this time, she didn’t say anything though. “Yeah, we did.” Luke’s hand found Din’s, and he laced their fingers together. Din was grateful for the connection, since this meal was already extremely awkward for him. 

“I’m so glad. You both seem happy; that is all I ever wanted.” Padmé smiled at them both. 

Thankfully, the food started to come out then and everyone was distracted. Han went to get the boys, as everyone else started to dish themselves. Din was overwhelmed by the volume of food on the table, and chose to fill Grogu’s place before his own. Luke glanced at him a few times while filling his own plate. 

Din eventually grew more comfortable, but it took almost the whole meal before that happened. Throughout the conversation, Luke’s family kept throwing questions their way: how did they meet – which threw Luke for a loop, considering everyone at the table new Din worked for his parent’s company – where did Din go to school, where did Din live...and most embarrassing of all, where did they see the relationship going. Luke’s face was bright red as he stuttered that they didn’t know, and Din felt like his face probably looked the same. 

The evening was pleasant, if you ignored all the questioning. Din found himself liking Luke’s family, laughing with their jokes, and joining in on the family banter. When dinner was over, after saying their goodbyes to Leia and Han, they made their way to the front of the house, needing to get Grogu home to bed. 

“I’m so happy for you, Luke,” Padmé whispered as she hugged Luke tightly. She and Anakin had walked them to the front door. 

“Thanks, Mom.” Luke smiled at her before taking a step closer to his father, hugging him next. “I am so happy.” 

Padmé smiled at him, before walking over to Din, smiling wide. “I’m glad you two were able to come.” She pulled Din into her arms, hugging him tightly. “Please be good to my boy. He needs that in his life.” 

“I will, Mrs-Padmé. I promise.” 

She leaned back, looking into his eyes. “You love him.” 

“Yes,” Din replied, seeing no reason to lie. 

Her face broke out into a huge grin and she hugged him again. “I’m so glad.” 

She disconnected from Din as Anakin stepped forward. He put his hand out again, and Din shook it, smiling at him. “Good to see you again, son. I hope we’ll see more of you.” 

“You can count on it, Dad,” Luke said, picking up Grogu. Grogu settled against Luke’s shoulder, his eyes sleepy. “We need to get him home. He's going to crash out in a minute.” 

“I understand. Thank you for coming.” Padmé smiled as Anakin put his arm around her. 

“Bye Mom...Dad. Love you both.” Din opened the door as Luke smiled one last time at them, before turning to walk outside. 

Luke set Grogu in the back of the car, buckling him up before getting inside the car himself. Din started the long drive back, his hand settling on Luke’s leg. 

“That went well,” Luke mused, holding onto Din’s hand. He glanced back at Grogu, who was already asleep. 

“Could have been worse,” Din agreed. 

“Seems that everyone is ok with us being together.” 

“Seems so.” 

They lapsed into silence for a few moments. 

“Luke?” Din said, at the same time Luke said, "Din?” 

They both chuckled. “You go,” Luke said. 

“I know you need to go home; but I don’t want you to,” Din said quietly. 

“I thought I was going home?” 

Din’s heart fell. “You want me to take you to your car?” 

Luke leaned across the car, his head settling on Din’s shoulder. “No. I said, I thought I was going home? Don’t we need to put Grogu down?” 

Din smiled, kissing Luke’s head quickly before turning to face the road. “Yeah. Let’s go home.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh, I loved writing this. Luke and his family making Din nervous. Good stuff hahaha! There's only one more chapter, which is really more of an epilogue honestly. I hope that you have enjoyed this fic! It brought me joy to write it, especially knowing it would be a gift to my BBBB.
> 
> Speaking of, I have to thank my beta for everything, including the prompt. Zombified419 also has her own story Naberrie Blooms - please check it out!

**Author's Note:**

> The story is complete; 10 chapters, 10 days, and 10 different ways I express to zombified419, my dear, dear friend, just how much I appreciate her. 
> 
> I hope that you all have enjoyed. More tomorrow :)


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